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RESILIENT AND SUSTAINABLE CITY COMMISSION MEETING TO ORDER FOR APRIL 25TH, 2024.[ROLL CALL]
A ROLL CALL BY THE CLERK.COMMISSIONER WHEELER, VICE CHAIR SKYE.
[1. 24-53060 Recommendation to approve the minutes for the Climate Resilient and Sustainable City Commission meeting of Thursday, February 22, 2024. Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ]
THE AGENDA, UH, WILL BE A RECOMMENDATION.APPROVE THE MINUTES FOR THE COMMISSION, UH, FOR THE FEBRUARY 22ND, 2024 MEETING.
UH, CAN I GET A MOTION ON THIS ITEM? AND YOU CAN USE YOUR TABLETS TO, UH, MOTION.
SO WE HAVE A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER COFFEY, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER TOLKOFF.
AND WE HAVE A, UM, IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM? IS PUBLIC COMMENT.
IS THERE ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON ITEM NUMBER ONE? PLEASE LINE UP AT THE PODIUM AT THIS TIME.
THAT CONCLUDES PUBLIC COMMENT.
AND I DON'T SEE ANY DISCUSSION BY OUR COMMISSIONERS.
WE'LL GO AHEAD AND CALL FOR A VOTE.
WE'LL NOW MOVE TO ITEM TWO, WHICH IS A RECOMMENDATION
[2. 24-53061 Recommendation to receive and file a presentation from City staff on Earth Month. Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ]
TO RECEIVE AND FILE PRESENTATION BY CITY STAFF FOR EARTH MONTH.AND SO, UM, WE ARE NOW GONNA HAVE A MOTION AND SECOND BEFORE WE HAVE THE ITEM.
IS THAT RIGHT? YEAH, WE CAN HAVE THE MOTION RIGHT NOW BEFORE THE PRESENTATION OR RIGHT AFTER THE PRESENTATION AS LONG AS IT'S, AS IT'S BEFORE DISCUSSION.
SO LET'S HAVE THE PRESENTATION FIRST.
SO LARRY, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU.
VICE-CHAIR SKY COM AFTERNOON COMMISSIONERS.
UM, SO HAPPY, UH, EARTH WEEK AND EARTH MONTH.
AND SO OUR MEETING TODAY IS GONNA FEATURE, UH, A KIND OF A EARTH MONTH OVERVIEW WITH A FEW DIFFERENT ITEMS, UH, LEADING OFF WITH, UM, SOME GREEN BUSINESS RECOGNITION.
SO, UH, WITH THIS TODAY IS OUR STAFF MEMBER, JASMINE ROHAN, WHO IS THE PROGRAM SPECIALIST IN CHARGE OF OUR, UH, GREEN BUSINESS CERTIFICATION PROGRAM.
AND SHE'S, UM, BROUGHT IN SOME OF OUR GREEN BUSINESSES.
AND SO SHE'LL GIVE YOU A QUICK OVERVIEW AND INTRODUCE, UH, SOME GREEN BUSINESSES THAT ARE GONNA BE FEATURED TODAY.
UH, AS LARRY MENTIONED, I'D LIKE TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE GREEN BUSINESS PROGRAM, A FEW OF OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN THE PAST YEAR.
AND I'VE INVITED A COUPLE OF GUEST SPEAKERS AS WELL, UM, TO SHARE WITH Y'ALL TODAY.
SO THE GREEN BUSINESS, UM, CERTIFICATION IS A STATEWIDE CERTIFICATION PROGRAM.
I RUN IT HERE FOR THE CITY OF LONG BEACH.
UH, WE PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO HELP BUSINESSES IMPROVE ENERGY EFFICIENCY, REDUCE WASTE, SAVE WATER, PREVENT POLLUTION, AND INCREASE EMPLOYEE AWARENESS OF SUSTAINABILITY.
THIS PAST YEAR, WE NO CLOSER, SORRY.
THIS PAST YEAR WE CERTIFIED 25 BUSINESSES, UM, WHICH, UH, I HAVE A COUPLE OF STATS HERE SHOWING, UH, WHAT THAT REPRESENTS AS FAR AS ACTUAL IMPACT.
UH, SO IN THE PAST YEAR, ALL OF OUR GREEN BUSINESSES, SO THAT'S ABOUT 62 GREEN BUSINESSES CERTIFIED CURRENTLY, UH, WE'RE ABLE TO REDUCE, UH, OVER 300,000 POUNDS OF GREENHOUSE GAS, WHICH IS EQUIVALENT TO PLANTING 500 ACRES OF TREES.
SO IT HAS MADE A PRETTY BIG IMPACT.
UH, AND THEN I JUST WANNA TALK ABOUT, UM, OUR, ONE OF OUR FIRST SPEAKERS IS GOING TO BE PRIMAL ALCHEMY CATERING.
UH, SO THEY ARE ACTUALLY ONE OF THE FIRST CERTIFIED GREEN BUSINESSES HERE IN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH.
UH, THIS PAST YEAR THEY ALSO WON THE ACHIEVEMENT AND CATERING EXCELLENCE SUSTAINABILITY AWARD.
AND I THINK THEY'RE GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT, UM, RIGHT NOW.
YEAH, WHY DON'T YOU COME ON UP.
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I ASKED ROBERT GARCIA THEN MAYOR TO PUT ME ON THE SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION LIKE SIX OR SEVEN YEARS AGO, AND HE GOES, NO, YOU'RE GOING ON A CITIZENS POLICE COMPLAINT COMMISSION.SO I SPENT FIVE YEARS ON THAT INSTEAD OF WHERE YOU GUYS ARE.
UH, SO WE FOUNDED PRIME ALCHEMY 23 YEARS AGO ON, UH, SUSTAINABILITY FROM DAY ONE, ALWAYS FARM TO TABLE, LOCAL, SEASONAL, SUSTAINABLE.
UM, WE WERE ONE OF THE ONLY ONES DOING THAT.
RESTAURANTS WEREN'T DOING IT, IT JUST WASN'T HAPPENING.
AND FOR CATERING COMPANY TO DO THAT WAS, WAS PRETTY NOVEL.
UM, WE, BECAUSE OF OUR COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY FROM DAY ONE, WE WERE ABLE TO ATTRACT THE TED CONFERENCE, UM, TO USE US IN 2009.
HE HAD NO IDEA WHAT THE TED CONFERENCE WAS.
HE GOT A PHONE CALL FROM TED, AND HE, HE SAYS, OKAY, YOU KNOW, I'LL CALL YOU BACK, WHATEVER.
HE, HE CALLS ME AND I KNEW WHAT THE TED CONFERENCE WAS.
HE CALLS ME AND HE SAYS, SOMEBODY FROM THE TED THING CALLED.
WE GOT TAKEDA FOR THEM ALL FIVE YEARS.
THEY WERE HERE IN LONG BEACH AND THEY FOUND US BECAUSE OF OUR SUSTAINABILITY.
SO THEY, THEY TRACKED US DOWN, WHICH I THOUGHT WAS A REALLY GOOD, UH, TESTIMONY TO OUR, OUR ABILITY TO REMAIN GENUINE TO, TO WHAT WHAT OUR ETHOS IS.
UM, IN 2016, THANK YOU, BECAUSE I FORGOT WHEN IT WAS JUST
AND, UH, WE HAD TO DO TWO THINGS.
WE HAD TO REPLACE AN AERATOR ON A, ON A FAUCET AND CHANGE A LIGHT BULB.
AND WE PASSED ALL 300 CHECK MARKS BECAUSE WE WERE ALREADY DOING IT.
SO I THINK THEY CALLED US 'CAUSE WE'RE THE LOW, WE WERE THE LOW HANGING FRUIT, BASICALLY
UM, WE HAD A LOVELY, UH, MEDIA LAUNCH IN FRONT OF OUR KITCHEN WHERE THE FIRST FIVE OR SIX BUSINESSES, UM, WERE, WERE THERE AND THE MAYOR.
AND, AND I THINK SUSIE PRICE AT THE TIME WAS COUNCIL PERSON.
SINCE WE BECAME CERTIFIED, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO REALLY, UM, UTILIZE THAT CERTIFICATION.
WE'RE ALSO FOAM FREE AND BLUE WATER CERTIFIED AS, AS A MAJOR PIECE OF OUR MARKETING.
UM, IT'S BEEN, IT'S BEEN REALLY GREAT TO ATTRACT, LIKE-MINDED CLIENTS THAT WEDDINGS, PEOPLE THAT WANT SUSTAINABILITY COMPANIES, SURF WEAR COMPANIES, ALL KINDS OF COMPANIES THAT WERE SUSTAINABLE IS PARAMOUNT IN THEIR, IN THEIR BUSINESS.
UM, SO IT'S BEEN REALLY GREAT TO HAVE THAT, TO BE ABLE TO CLAIM THAT AND ALSO TO, UM, TO FIGHT GREENWASHING BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY COMPANIES OUT THERE THAT, I'M NOT GONNA NAME NAMES, BUT SOMEBODY LOCAL HERE TO US, ONE OF OUR COMPETITORS,
AND IT'S, IT'S JUST REALLY OUR ABILITY TO POINT AT THAT SYMBOL, UM, ON OUR WEBSITE AND ON OUR EMAIL, UM, SIGNATURES AND ALL THAT REALLY MAKES A DIFFERENCE BECAUSE WE CAN REALLY WALK THE, SAY, WE WALK THE TALK.
AND, AND IT, IT MEANS A LOT TO, UM, TO BE ABLE TO BE AUTHENTIC.
UM, ALSO WE HAVE BEEN ASKED TO SPEAK NATIONWIDE AT, UH, UH, AN EVENT CALLED CATERSOURCE AND SPECIAL EVENTS.
IT'S ALL EVENT PLANNING PEOPLE.
UH, AND THEN WE GET TOGETHER, THERE'S LIKE THREE OR 4,000 PEOPLE THAT ATTEND THIS THING.
AND FOR, SINCE THE PANDEMIC, WE'VE SPOKEN EVERY YEAR ON TEACHING EVENT PLANNERS AND CATERING BUSINESSES, HOW TO BE GREEN AND HOW TO DO ALMOST ZERO WASTE EVENTS.
'CAUSE WE ALL KNOW THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A ZERO WASTE EVENT, BUT WE, YOU KNOW, DO SOMETHING IS, IS WHAT WE TRY TO TELL THEM.
SO WE SHARE OUR BEST PRACTICES WITH THEM.
AND, UM, THIS YEAR, AS JASMINE ALLUDED TO, WE WERE AWARDED THE INAUGURAL.
IT'S THE FIRST TIME THEY'VE EVER HAD, THIS IS WHERE SUSTAINABILITY IS GOING.
HOPEFULLY FIRST AWARD THEY'VE HAD IN SUSTAINABILITY IN EVENTS.
AND WE WERE AWARDED THE FIRST ONE.
SO, AND IT'S A NATION, IT'S A NATIONWIDE, A NATIONWIDE AWARD.
SO WE WERE PRETTY, PRETTY, UM, SURPRISED AND HAPPY ABOUT THAT.
AND THAT'S ANOTHER, ANOTHER FEATHER IN OUR CAP BECAUSE OF OUR GREEN CERTIFICATION.
SO, UM, ONE OTHER THING I JUST WANNA MENTION IS THAT, UM, WE WERE HERE TUESDAY AT THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING AND WE ADDRESSED THE COUNCIL ABOUT, UH, UTILIZING GREEN BUSINESSES, THE CERTIFIED LONG BEACH CITY CERTIFIED GREEN BUSINESSES IN THEIR CONTRACTING.
AND I DON'T THINK IT'S HAPPENING ENOUGH IF, IF THERE'S AN OPTION FOR A GREEN BUSINESS VERSUS NOT, WE SHOULD BE, THEY SHOULD BE LOOKING AT THAT.
SO, UM, I JUST WANNA ENCOURAGE YOU TO SUPPORT THAT ASPECT ALSO.
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AND THEN PAUL'S GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OTHER STUFF.UM, I, THIS IS MORE ABOUT JUST LIKE, SO YOU UNDERSTAND ABOUT RESOURCES.
UM, YOU KNOW, THERE WEREN'T A LOT OF BIODEGRADABLE PRODUCTS AVAILABLE, UM, UH, IN, IN THE MARKET, BUT NOW THERE ARE MUCH MORE.
AND THE COSTS FOR, UM, A BIRCH FORK THAT REPLACES A PLASTIC, YOU KNOW, SPOON THIS, THAT WILL BE AROUND FOREVER.
THE BIRCH FORK WILL COME POST IN, UH, A SERIES OF WEEKS, UM, IS 1.70 CENTS.
THAT'S HOW MUCH I PAY FOR A BIRCH FORK.
SO COST IS NOT AN ISSUE AS MUCH NOW BECAUSE THE, THE QUANTITY PRODUCED HAS GONE UP, THE EFFICIENCY HAS GONE UP.
SO THE PRICE HAS REALLY COME DOWN.
UM, THE CITY HAS GIVEN, YOU KNOW, AMPLE TIME AND AMPLE EDUCATION AND RESOURCES TO BUSINESSES, SMALL BUSINESSES AND ALL THE FOOD BUSINESSES IN TOWN ABOUT, UM, USING SOMETHING LIKE THAT AND, AND PROVIDING ACTUALLY EVEN FUNDING FOR THEM TO SWITCH FROM FOAM TO SOMETHING MORE BIODEGRADABLE.
SO I THINK THEY'VE DONE A LOT OF WORK.
THEY JUST NEED MAYBE SOME ENFORCEMENT.
UM, SOURCING FARMER'S MARKETS WENT FROM ONE A WEEK YEARS AGO WHEN WE STARTED.
UM, THAT WAS ONLY ONE DAY, YOU KNOW, FRIDAY, THAT WAS THE ONLY MARKET DOWNTOWN.
NOW THERE'S PROBABLY SEVEN OR EIGHT, MAYBE EVEN MORE.
UM, I DON'T THINK THE MONDAY ONE'S STUCK, BUT PRETTY MUCH EVERY OTHER DAY THERE'S A FARMER'S MARKET TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY.
AND ON SUNDAY I THINK THERE'S AT LEAST TWO MARKETS GOING ON.
SO IT'S GREAT, UH, HAVING THAT RESOURCE.
I DON'T SEE A LOT OF CHEFS THERE, UM, A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN THERE, THERE WAS BEFORE, BUT I'M NOT SURE HOW MANY, UM, GREEN, I GUESS, RESTAURANTS THERE ARE RIGHT NOW.
UM, BUT ANYWAY, HOPEFULLY I CAN SEE SOME MORE THERE.
AND I KNOW LIKE PHILIP PRETTY FROM HERITAGE AND STUFF IS DOING SOME GREAT THINGS.
UM, AS FAR AS POLICY GOES, UM, AGAIN, THE CITY HAS, CITY HAS PROVIDED FUNDING AND EDUCATION AND CLEAR DETAILS OF WHAT THE POLYSTYRENE LAW IS.
AND IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS THERE'S BEEN ZERO ENFORCEMENT.
SO WE DID ENCOURAGE THEM, UM, RECENTLY AT THE COUNCIL MEETING TO MAYBE PUT A LITTLE MORE EFFORT INTO THAT.
AND, UH, I'M HOPING THAT THIS GROUP CAN HELP SUPPORT AND MAYBE NUDGE, UM, THE, UH, THE CITY SERVICES TO ENFORCE THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE.
'CAUSE IT'S BEEN ABOUT FOUR YEARS AND WE HAVEN'T GIVEN ONE TICKET YET.
AND I DON'T THINK WE HAVE AN ENFORCEMENT OFFICER YET.
BUT ANYWAY, UM, BUT THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE TIME.
UM, I LOOK FORWARD TO THE WORKING WITH THE COMMISSION AND I'M ALWAYS AVAILABLE IF ANYBODY HAS A QUESTION OR US AS A BUSINESS, SOMEBODY ELSE NEW WANTS TO GET STARTED OR HAS A QUESTION ABOUT BEING A SUSTAINABLE GREEN BUSINESS.
WE WOULD LOVE TO HELP GUIDE THEM ALONG AND BE SUPPORTIVE.
UH, IN ADDITION TO BEING ONE OF THE FIRST, UH, CERTIFIED GREEN BUSINESSES HERE IN LONG BEACH, YOU ARE OFFICIALLY THE LONGEST CONTINUOUS CERTIFIED GREEN BUSINESS, UH, IN LONG BEACH.
SO WE CAN HAVE SOME BRAGGING RIGHTS, AND I DON'T BELIEVE ETHICALLY WAS ABLE TO COME OUT TONIGHT.
UM, AND SAME WITH SACRED ROOTS, THE NEXT ONE.
SO YOU CAN, I DON'T, I DON'T THINK THEY'RE ABLE TO MAKE IT TONIGHT.
AND LEND SUPPORT TO ETHICALLY.
ETHICALLY THOUGH, 'CAUSE WE USE, WE USE THEIR STUFF.
UM, SOMETIMES THEY HAVE A GREAT PRODUCTS THERE AT THE FARMER'S MARKET.
UM, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS OUR, OUR QUICK FEATURE OF SOME GREEN BUSINESSES.
UM, AND EXCUSE MY HORSE VOICE.
UM, LET ME DECIDE ON A SCREEN TO LOOK AT.
SO, UH, THE MIDDLE PART OF OUR, UH, EARTH MONTH PRESENTATION IS AN OVERVIEW OF VARIOUS EARTH MONTH ACTIVITIES FROM THE COMMUNITY CALENDAR.
SOME EVENT HIGHLIGHTS, UM, SOME, UH, HIGHLIGHTS OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS, EARTH DAY AT CITY HALL, AND A COUPLE OF UPCOMING EVENTS.
SO A, A BIG EFFORT OF OUR OFFICE IS TO ASSEMBLE A EARTH MONTH CALENDAR.
AND SO THIS YEAR, UH, WE PUT THE WORD OUT TO COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS AND WE WERE ABLE TO COLLECT, UH, OVER 60 EVENTS THAT WERE HIGHLIGHTED THROUGH OUR CALENDAR THAT INCLUDED 50 COMMUNITY EVENTS AND 14 CITY EVENTS.
SOME WHICH WERE PUT ON OR WILL BE PUT ON BY OUR OFFICE, BUT ALSO OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS.
AND SO ALL OF THESE CALL CALENDAR EVENTS WERE PROMOTED ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
AND, UM, ACTUALLY GOT SOME COVERAGE BY VARIOUS LOCAL PRESS OUTLETS, INCLUDING THE LONG BEACH POST, THE PRESS TELEGRAM, AND THE SIGNAL HILL TRIBUNE.
AND SO HERE'S JUST, I'M NOT GONNA GO OVER ALL, UH, 60 OF THOSE EVENTS, BUT, UM, HERE'S SOME HIGHLIGHTS.
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JUST A, A RANDOM SAMPLING FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE MONTH, WE DID A CLEAN ENERGY CONVERSATION PANEL WITH, UH, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON AND GRID ALTERNATIVES IN THE WRIGLEY NEIGHBORHOOD.UH, WE WORKED WITH PUBLIC WORKS AND THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT ON A BIKE MAINTENANCE WORKSHOP, UH, AND WITH WALK AND ROLL, WHICH IS, UH, UH, AN, UH, PROGRAM WITHIN OUR HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
UM, WE DID OUR REGULAR MONTHLY RESTORATION FRIDAY, BUT WE HAD A GREAT TURNOUT AT WILLOW SPRINGS.
UM, ON THE SECOND FRIDAY OF THE MONTH, THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, UH, WORKED WITH OUR OFFICE TO DO A COMMUNITY CLEANUP AT DEFOREST PARK ON THE 13TH.
UH, THERE WAS SOME CONCERN THAT IT WOULD BE RAINED OUT, BUT IT WASN'T.
AND THEN, UH, ON OUR EARTH DAY TREE PLANTING WAS LAST SATURDAY IN THE WASHINGTON NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE WE PLANTED 45, 47, 40 44 TREES ON, UM, LOCUST AND PINE AVENUES JUST NORTH OF 14TH STREET.
UH, AND IT WAS ORGANIZED BY SOME OF OUR, UH, CALIFORNIA CLIMATE ACTION CORPS FELLOWS.
AND WE HAD THE ASSISTANCE OF THE CONSERVATION CORPS OF LONG BEACH, BUT WE ALSO PUT THE CALL OUT FOR VOLUNTEERS.
AND WE GOT ABOUT 20 COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS.
AND THE, UH, THOSE 44 TREES WERE ALL PLANTED, UH, BY 10 30.
AND SO THAT WAS, UM, OUR BIGGEST COMMUNITY PLANTING TO DATE THAT, UM, WE ORGANIZE THROUGH OUR OFFICE.
AND THEN COMING UP THIS SATURDAY IS THE CITY NATURE CHALLENGE, WHICH IS OUR BIGGEST EVENT OF THE YEAR AT, UM, WILLOW SPRINGS PARK.
YOU'VE BEEN HEARING ABOUT IT FOR A COUPLE MONTHS NOW, BUT IT'S RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER WHERE WE HIGHLIGHT THE INATURALIST APP AND INVITE, UH, PARTICIPANTS TO NOT JUST VISIT OUR PARTNER, UH, TABLES, UH, PROVIDING RESOURCES, BUT TO GET OUT ONTO THE TRAIL AND OBSERVE ALL THE DIFFERENT SPECIES THAT ARE THERE AND RECORD THEM IN THE INATURALIST APP.
THERE WERE THREE DIFFERENT CAMPAIGNS, UM, THAT WERE PROMOTED THIS MONTH FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE MONTH, THE LONG BEACH RECYCLES FOOD WASTE PREVENTION WEEK TO THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT'S COMMUNITY CLEANUP WEEK OF ACTION, AND THEN THE ENTIRE MONTH, UH, AS PART OF A NATIONAL CAMPAIGN, I BELIEVE, OF PLANET VERSUS PLASTICS, HIGHLIGHTING THE ISSUE OF PLASTICS, NOT ONLY IN OUR OCEANS, BUT EVERYWHERE, UH, DOWN TO THE MICROPLASTIC LEVEL.
AND THEN THIS WEEK, EARTH WEEK, UH, WE ORGANIZED A CELEBRATION WITH CITY STAFF IN THE LOBBY, UH, OF CITY HALL, WHERE WE HAD SUSTAINABLE RESOURCES PROVIDED BY OUR OFFICE AND LONG BEACH CYCLES.
WE HAD REMARKS FROM VICE MAYOR CINDY ALLEN, AND DEPUTY CITY MANAGER MEREDITH REYNOLDS.
AND THEN WE HAD GUEST SPEAKERS FROM ALITA, MARINE RESEARCH AND EDUCATION FOUNDATION AND THE AQUARIUM OF THE PACIFIC.
AND ALL OF THIS WAS LIVE STREAMED ON LONG BEACH TV.
AND THAT WAS AHEAD OF THE COUNCIL MEETING.
WELL, THE FIRST THING THAT'S NOT LISTED HERE IS CONSERVATION CORPS OF LONG BEACH WAS HONORED, UH, FOR GETTING AN, A NATIONAL AWARD FOR THEIR URBAN WOOD RECOVERY YARD THAT IS CITED AT WILLOW SPRINGS.
AND SO THEY WERE RECOGNIZED FOR THAT.
BUT THEN ON THE, UH, REGULAR COUNCIL AGENDA, WE RECEIVED, UM, WELL, THREE DIFFERENT GRANTS WERE RECEIVED.
THE CLIMATE LB MICRO-GRANT PROGRAM, WHICH IS $50,000 FROM ROCKEFELLER, UH, TO DISTRIBUTE MICROGRANTS TO SUPPORT YOUTH-LED CLIMATE PROJECTS IN WEST LONG BEACH.
THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND CONSERVATION BLOCK GRANT E OR E-E-C-B-G PROGRAM.
WE WERE AWARDED $423,000 FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY TO IMPLEMENT LED LIGHTING RETROFITS OF APPROXIMATELY 500 PARK LIGHTS OF MORE THAN A FEW YEARS AGO.
ALL OF THE CITY'S STREETLIGHTS WERE CONVERTED TO LED, BUT WE DIDN'T QUITE MAKE IT TO PARKS.
AND SO THIS WILL HELP, UH, BRIDGE THAT GAP.
AND THEN, UM, THE BIG ONE FOR US WAS THE, UH, INFLATION REDUCTION ACT, URBAN AND COMMUNITY FORESTRY PROGRAM.
THE COUNCIL, UH, RECEIVED THE, UH, $1 MILLION AWARD FROM THE US FOREST SERVICE TO SUPPORT URBAN FOREST PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT, PARTICULARLY IN DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES.
AND THEN FINALLY, THE, UH, CITY COUNCIL ALSO VOTED TO APPROVE THE OFFICE OF CLIMATE ACTION AND SUSTAINABILITY 2024 WORK PLAN THAT, UH, WE WORKED ON WITH THE COMMISSION AT OUR RETREAT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR.
UM, EARTH MONTH IS EXTENDING INTO, UM, UH, MAY, OF COURSE FOR US EVERY MONTH IS AN EARTH MONTH.
BUT, UH, UPCOMING IS A REDUCE, REUSE AND REGROW YOUR KITCHEN SCRAPS WORKSHOP ON MAY 9TH AT MICHELLE OBAMA LIBRARY AND A BIKE SAFETY WORKSHOP AT, UH, MAY 18TH AT SILVERADO PARK.
AND THESE ARE ONES THAT OUR STAFF IS PARTNERING WITH, UM, OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND ENTITIES TO PUT
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THESE ON.ALRIGHT, SO THAT'S THE, UH, ROUND OUT OF THE, UH, EARTH MONTH OVERVIEW.
BUT IN ADDITION, WE'RE GONNA, I'M GONNA HAND IT TO ANDRE FROM OUR CLIMATE OFFICE TO, UH, GIVE YOU SOME UPDATES ON THE CLIMATE ACTION PLAN.
UM, SO WE ALSO, ON TOP OF ALL THE WONDERFUL WORK SUSTAINABILITY'S DOING, UM, WE'VE, UH, PUBLISHED A FEW, UH, OUR 2021 GAS INVENTORY REPORT AND A DATA PORTAL, AND OUR ANNUAL REPORT IS COMING UP SOON.
SO, UM, WE'VE RELEASED A MEMO ON FOUR NINE TO CITY COUNCIL, UH, WITH A 40 PAGE REPORT, WHICH, UM, HAS AN OVERVIEW WITH OUR, UM, KIND OF INTRODUCTION TO CLIMATE CHANGE.
CLIMATE CHANGE IN LONG BEACH HAS ALL OUR INVENTORY RESULTS, OUR EMISSIONS AT A GLANCE, WHICH YOU COULD SEE HERE, TRANSPORTATION IS OUR HIGHEST, FOLLOWED BY COMMERCIAL ENERGY AND PROCESS AND FUGITIVE EMISSIONS.
UM, OUR EMISSIONS ARE UP FROM THE LAST INVENTORY WE DID IN 2015 BY ABOUT 18%.
UM, SO WE DEFINITELY ARE TRYING TO DO MORE WORK AND HOPEFUL THAT, UH, WHEN WE COMPLETE OUR 2023 INVENTORY, UH, THERE WILL BE A DECREASE, WHICH WE ARE GONNA BE STARTING, UH, TOWARDS, UH, SUMMERTIME.
UM, SO ON TOP OF ALL THAT, SO WE WANNA SHOW THE COMMUNITY ALL THE, UH, HARD WORK OUR DEPARTMENTS ARE DOING, AND THAT WE WANNA BE TRANSPARENT WITH ALL OUR INVENTORY INFORMATION.
SO WE'VE WORKED WITH OUR TID INFORMATION, UH, TID TEAM TO, UH, CREATE A CLIMATE PORTAL.
UM, SO IN THE PORTAL YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SEE OUR EMISSION TRENDS.
UM, WE E EXPLAIN WHY THERE'S A GAP BETWEEN 2015 AND 2021, UH, UH, EXPLANATION OF WHY 2021 MIGHT BE HIGHER.
UH, WE GO INTO A DEEPER BREAKDOWN OF ALL THE SECTORS, UM, AND WE HAVE ALL OUR ACTION ITEMS AND, UM, KIND OF BROKEN DOWN INTO TRANSPORTATION ENERGY BUILDING, UM, AND OUR ADAPTATION ACTIONS.
AND WE'RE HOPING BY NEXT YEAR WE'LL HAVE A MORE ROBUST, UH, PORTAL WHERE WE'RE GONNA SHOW WHAT, UH, DEPARTMENT'S RESPONSIBLE FOR THESE ACTION ITEMS AND THE PROGRESS WE MAKE TOWARDS THESE ACTION ITEMS. AND SO THOSE, UH, WILL BE UPDATED ANNUALLY.
AND OUR COMMUNITY WIDE INVENTORY, UH, WILL BE, UM, UPDATED BI-ANNUALLY.
BUT SINCE WE DID 2021, UH, WE'RE GONNA WORK ON 20 23 1 NOW.
AND THE LAST THING WE'RE GONNA BE PUBLISHING, WHICH IS GONNA BE THIS THURSDAY, WILL BE, UH, THIS, UH, NEXT THURSDAY, SORRY, UH, WILL BE OUR, UM, ANNUAL REPORT FOR OUR 2023 CALENDAR YEAR.
SO WE'VE ASKED ALL OUR CLIMATE CHAMPIONS TO GIVE US, UM, ALL THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS THAT OUR DEPARTMENTS HAVE MADE TOWARDS CAP IMPLEMENTATION.
AND, UH, WE TOOK ALL THAT INFORMATION MADE INTO REPORT AND, UH, WE WILL HAVE THAT, UH, LINKED FOR YOU ON, UH, NEXT THURSDAY, MAY 2ND.
SO THAT'S OUR, UH, EARTH MONTH OVERVIEW.
UM, HAPPY TO, UH, TAKE ANY OF YOUR COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS.
UH, TO START THINGS OFF, COULD I ASK FOR A MOTION TO RECEIVE AND FILE THE PRESENTATION? OKAY.
WE HAVE A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER GONZALEZ, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER GAINES.
UH, BEFORE WE VOTE, UH, WE'LL HAVE PUBLIC COMMENT.
UH, IF THERE ARE ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON ITEM NUMBER TWO, PLEASE LINE UP AT THE PODIUM AT THIS TIME.
SEEING NONE FOR ITEM NUMBER TWO.
THAT CONCLUDES PUBLIC COMMENT.
UM, ANY QUESTIONS OR DISCUSSION FROM THE COMMISSIONERS? SONA, DOWN THE LINE.
IF SOMEONE HAS A CHANCE TO COME BACK AND ERASE WHATEVER I JUST DID
UM, BUT THANK YOU TO STAFF AND TO THE, UH, GREEN BUSINESSES THAT ARE HERE.
UM, I SEE JULIE HERE ALSO FROM BRING YOUR OWN, SO WANNA RECOGNIZE ANOTHER GREEN BUSINESS, UH, IN OUR COMMUNITY THAT I ENJOY SUPPORTING.
AND I THINK IT IS, IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO SUPPORT THE GREEN BUSINESSES THAT WE HAVE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
SO, UM, SHOUT OUT TO, ESPECIALLY TO PRI ALCHEMY.
UM, WAY BACK WHEN, UH, 11 YEARS AGO, WE WERE LOOKING FOR A SUSTAINABLE, LOCALLY SOURCED FARM, UH, TO TABLE VENDOR TO PROVIDE A VERY SPECIAL CATERING EVENT FOR US.
AND THEY CAME THROUGH, UH, AT A VERY CHALLENGING LOCATION,
WE BROUGHT EVERYTHING IN AND THEY DID A PHENOMENAL JOB.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, A NEAR ZERO, UH, NEAR ZERO WASTE EVENT, UH, AS WELL.
SO, UM, HATS OFF TO THAT AND TO ALL THE WORK YOU DO AND JUST, UH, SO IMPRESSED TO SEE IT CONTINUING ALL THESE YEARS.
UM, A COUPLE QUESTIONS FOR, UH, STAFF ON SOME OF THE CLIMATE ITEMS, UM, FOR THE CLIMATE, THE MICRO GRANT FOR CLIMATE LB, UM, WHAT TYPES OF PROJECTS ARE THOSE GONNA BE FOR? UM, THE YOUTH LED CLIMATE INITIATIVES FOR THE WEST PALM BEACH SIDE? MM-HMM.
AND, UM, OUR, UH, UH, GRANT, ALYSSA LUISA HAD WORKED ON THAT, SO I'M NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT SURE, BUT I CAN KIND OF FIGURE THAT OUT AND, UH, EMAIL, EMAIL YOU WHEN I,
[00:25:01]
I GET MORE INFORMATION.BUT THEY ARE, AND I BELIEVE YOUTH LET, UM, GET PROGRAMS. YEAH, THAT'S, NO, IT'S GOOD TO SEE THE, THE GRANT UPDATE.
I WAS CURIOUS ABOUT THE E-E-C-B-G ONE ALSO, SO, OH YEAH.
YEAH, WE WERE WORKING ON THAT ONE FOR A WHILE.
SO WE'RE, UH, WE HAVE OUR KICKOFF MEETING IN MAY.
UM, AND LA LAST QUESTION ON THE INVENTORY, THE DATA INVENTORY PORTAL AND THE INCREASE IN EMISSIONS, UM, IS THAT FROM THE COMMERCIAL SECTOR OR IS THAT ACROSS THE BOARD? THAT IS A, IT'S ACROSS THE BOARD.
UM, SO, UM, EPA KIND OF STATED DUE TO ECONOMIC REBOUND, THERE WAS KIND OF LIKE NATIONWIDE AN INCREASE.
SO WE CAN'T PINPOINT, BUT WE, WE NEED TO MAKE KIND OF, UH, DECREASES ALL ACROSS THE BOARD.
SO WE'RE, WHATEVER WE CAN DO, WE'RE GONNA TRY TO DO.
OH YES, WE'VE GOT OUR, OUR WORK CUT OUT FOR US
YEAH, DEFINITELY FOR THE NEXT FEW YEARS.
UM, AND FOR THIS GROUP HERE, UM, YOU KNOW, I KNOW WE'VE DONE THIS IN THE PAST WHERE WE HAVE THE ALTERNATE MOTIONS, IF WE DO WANT TO HAVE A STATEMENT GO TO COUNCIL REGARDING SOME OF THE THINGS WE HEARD ABOUT TODAY.
UM, SO I'M WONDERING IF THERE IS A, IF THIS IS TIME TO MAKE AN ALTERNATE MOTION OR A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT TO THE MOTION, SOMETHING LIKE THAT WHERE WE CAN ASK COUNCIL TO SUPPORT A FEW THINGS WE HEARD ABOUT.
UM, I THINK WHAT, UM, CHEF POWELL BROUGHT UP ABOUT, AND DANA BROUGHT UP ABOUT SUPPORTING GREEN BUSINESSES IN THE COMMUNITY WHEN THERE ARE BIDS THAT COME FORWARD.
SO I DUNNO IF PART OF THE PRESENTATION OF EARTH MONTH RELATED THINGS THAT WAS, UM, PRESENTED TO THIS COMMISSION, CAN WE THEN SEND A, IT WAS THE TWO FROM FOUR BEFORE, I'M NOT SURE IF IT'S THE SAME FORMAT.
UM, WITH A NOTE FROM THIS COMMISSION SAYING WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE CITY COUNCIL, UM, ENDORSE SOME OF THESE THINGS AND SUPPORT GREEN BUSINESSES HERE IN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, ALONG THE TOPIC OF THE PLASTIC POLLUTION MONTH, UM, THE COUNCIL'S ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEE, HER ITEM ON THE PLASTIC ORDINANCE.
UM, SO AGAIN, VOICING SUPPORT FROM THIS COMMISSION TO SEE, UH, MORE ENFORCEMENT, MORE OUTREACH FOR ENGAGEMENT, UM, AROUND OUR PLASTIC ORDINANCE.
SO WONDERING HOW WE DO THAT AS PART OF THIS DISCUSSION.
SO IF WE WANT TO TACKLE YOUR QUESTION FIRST, I WOULD SAY RIGHT NOW WOULD BE THE RIGHT TIME TO EITHER DO A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT OR YOU CAN DO A SUBSTITUTE MOTION.
UM, I THINK A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE 'CAUSE IT'S RELATED TO THIS, UM, THIS REPORT.
SO IF, UH, RAY'S OKAY WITH THAT.
AND THEN WE MIGHT HAVE YOU REPHRASE A SUCCINCT VERSION OF THAT FRIENDLY AMENDMENT.
SO I'D LIKE TO CHECK IN WITH THE CLERK IF WE MAY, YOU KNOW, WE'VE DONE THIS SEVERAL TIMES OVER THE YEARS AND ENOUGH TIME GOES ON BETWEEN BECAUSE SOMETIMES WE BRING IT BACK TO THE NEXT COMMISSION MEETING SO THAT IT CAN BE MORE PROPERLY AGENDIZED.
SO, UM, CLERK, DO, DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY'RE ATTEMPTING TO DO HERE? YEAH, I'M TRYING TO GET CLARIFICATION ON THAT BECAUSE IT IS SOMETHING THAT'S COMPLETELY SEPARATE FROM RECEIVING AND FILING A PRESENTATION.
UM, BUT I BELIEVE IN THIS CASE IT WOULD BE A FRIENDLY TO INCLUDE THAT IN AS PART OF THE RECOMMENDATION.
SO IF COFFEE WOULD LIKE TO, UM, ASK, UH, COMMISSIONER GONZALEZ AND COMMISSIONER GAINES, IF THEY'RE OKAY WITH ADDING THAT AS A FRIENDLY, THEN THEY CAN JUST GO AHEAD AND ACCEPT THAT.
IF NOT, THEN UM, COFFEE CAN PROVIDE A SUBSTITUTE MOTION.
UM, SO YES TO THE, THE COMMISSIONERS THAT MADE THE MOTION.
IF YOU'RE OPEN TO A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT, I CAN RESTATE IT A STATEMENT.
UM, OR IF YOU'D PREFER, WE CAN DO ANOTHER MOTION.
UM, SO YOU GUYS, LEMME KNOW I'M OPEN TO THAT COMMISSIONER COPY.
SO THEN I WOULD, UM, PROPOSE A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT TO THE RECEIVE AND FILE, UM, AND REQUEST THAT CITY STAFF SEND A STATEMENT TO THE CITY COUNCIL, UH, INDICATING THIS COMMISSION SUPPORT FOR, UM, SUPPORTING GREEN BUSINESSES WHEN THE CITY RECEIVES, UH, BIDS FOR PROJECTS AS WAS PRESENTED HERE TODAY.
UM, AS WELL AS, UM, ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR ENFORCEMENT AND OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT ON THE CITY'S PLASTIC ORDINANCE PLASTIC POLICY THAT WAS ALSO PRESENTED TODAY.
AND IF THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE ANYBODY WANTS, LET ME KNOW.
UM, AND I THINK, UH, WARRANT'S SAYING THAT I YOU'RE, YOU'RE A VERY, VERY SMART PERSON, COMMISSIONER, GO COFFEY, BECAUSE THE AMENDMENT YOU PROPOSED IS WHAT I WAS GOING TO DO.
AND, UH, SINCE YOU AGREE WITH ME, YOU'RE OBVIOUSLY SMART
SO, UH, JUST AT THE BEGINNING, I, I WAS, I WAS ALSO GOING TO TALK FAVORABLY ABOUT CHEF PAUL AND DANA AND WHAT THEY HAVE DONE FOR OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR WORLD OVER THE YEARS, BUT I DON'T THINK I CAN REALLY STATE IT MUCH BETTER THAN YOU ALREADY HAVE.
BUT I'D LEAST LIKE THAT ON THE RECORD.
WE BARELY KNOW EACH OTHER, BUT I'VE HEARD OF YOU AND ABOUT YOU FOR YEARS AND I'VE NEVER HEARD ANYTHING BAD THAT'S, THAT'S PRACTICALLY IMPOSSIBLE.
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UH, AND I WOULD SUGGEST, BECAUSE THIS ISN IMPROPER FOR US TO DO AS A MOTION, BUT WHEN THOSE OF US ARE IN NEED OF, UM, THEIR SERVICES OR SERVICES LIKE THEIRS, WE OUGHT TO BE THINKING ABOUT LOOKING AT THE GREEN ONE.AND I THINK WHAT WE'RE ASKING THE CITY TO DO IS SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DO AS INDIVIDUALS.
AND THE LAST THING I WANTED TO SAY IS, UH, DANA, HAVING PREVIOUSLY SERVED ON THE CITIZENS POLICE COMPLAINT COMMISSION, UM, I, I CAN CONFIDENTLY TELL YOU THAT WORK WAS MORE FUN THAN THIS WORK
SO, SO MAYBE THE MAYOR DID YOU A FAVOR, BUT YOU ABSOLUTELY EITHER OF YOU, BOTH OF YOU WOULD SERVE VERY WELL ON THIS COMMISSION.
AND I, I DEFINITELY WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO, UH, THROW IN AN APPLICATION, UH, ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS THAT WANTED TO, UH, HAD A QUESTION OR COMMENT.
SO I, I HAD A, A QUESTION I WANTED TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THAT THE THIRD LARGEST SOURCE OF EMISSIONS PROCESS IN FUGITIVE EMISSIONS, IS THAT DRIVEN BY OIL OPERATIONS OR IS THERE OTHER INDUSTRY, THE PORT OR OTHER MAJOR, UM, GENERATORS OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS? UM, THAT'S JUST, THAT'S MOSTLY THE OIL AND NATURAL GAS.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, TRANSPORTATION BEING SUCH A HUGE PART, SO THIS IS, UH, FOR THOSE THAT AREN'T AWARE, THE COMMUNITY WIDE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION.
SO IT'S EVERY RESIDENT OF BUSINESS IN THIS CITY THAT'S DRIVING THAT.
SO OBVIOUSLY THE MORE WE CAN ELECTRIFY TRANSPORTATION, THE, THE MORE THAT SECTOR WILL BE LESS OF A FOOTPRINT.
SO IT'S A GOOD REMINDER FOR US TO DO OUR PART.
UM, YOU MENTIONED A LITTLE BIT THAT OBVIOUSLY THE SIGNIFICANT REBOUND IN THE ECONOMY WAS A BIG DRIVER FOR THE INCREASE IN THE EMISSIONS.
WERE THERE OTHER MAJOR FACTORS THAT YOU IDENTIFIED? 'CAUSE 18% IS A PRETTY STEEP INCREASE FROM 2015.
UH, WHAT WERE SOME OF THE BIG TAKEAWAYS FOR WHAT WAS DRIVING THE INCREASE? UM, I MEAN, IT'S DEFINITELY HARD TO TELL 'CAUSE IT WAS LIKE SUCH A, LIKE A NICE SIX.
UH, BUT, UM, LIKE I FEEL LIKE WE CAN'T REALLY SAY WHAT IT WAS, BUT I MEAN, WE'RE DEFINITELY MORE PEOPLE, MORE TRAVELING, MORE, WE HAVE MORE ENERGY GOING OUT THE PROSECUTION AMBITIONS, WE'RE KIND OF HOPEFUL.
OUR FORECASTS, UM, SHOW THAT COMPARED TO 2015, WE'RE NOT THAT FAR OFF WITH OUR BUSINESS AS USUAL, BUT WE ARE STILL FAIRLY FAR OFF FROM OUR 2030 INTERIM TARGET GOALS.
SO I THINK WE NEED, I THINK, UH, IN THE REPORT IT SHOWS A 40% DECREASE FROM THE 2021 NUMBER TO GET TO OUR 2030, UH, NUMBER.
AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO DIVING INTO MORE OF THE DETAILS ON THE WEBSITE AND, AND HAVING MORE DISCUSSIONS IN THIS GROUP ABOUT WHAT WE CAN ALL DO TO HELP GET THIS BACK IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
COMM COMMISSIONER, JUST A QUESTION FOR STAFF MIKE, PLEASE.
REGARDING THE, UH, NUMBER OF TREES PLANTED FOR THE, UH, MONTH OF APRIL.
UH, I CAN'T REMEMBER HOW MANY YOU SAID IN THAT, THAT PROJECT AREA.
OH, THAT WAS A SINGLE ONE DAY PLANTING OF 44.
SO I, I THINK I BROUGHT THIS UP BEFORE, BUT LIKE, EVERY TIME WE HAVE THESE PROJECTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY, UH, IT'S A GREAT IDEA.
I'M ALL FOR THE TREES, BUT I JUST ALWAYS ASK HOW MANY OF THOSE TREES, YOU KNOW, RIGHT WHEN THEY'RE PLANTED, ARE THEY THEY FAILING? ARE THEY SUCCEEDING? WHO'S, UH, HELD ACCOUNTABLE TO MAKE SURE THOSE TREES ARE SURVIVING? AND IN CERTAIN AREAS AND CERTAIN CORRIDORS, I THINK I BROUGHT IT UP, ESPECIALLY ALONG WILLOW WITH THE, THE METRO PROJECT.
THERE'S A LOT OF WELLS THAT ARE EMPTY AND THEY'VE NEVER BEEN REPLACED.
AND IT'S COMING TO THE POINT WHERE THE RESIDENTS ARE OUT THERE PLANTING THESE LITTLE FIVE GALLON TREES TO SEE IF THEY WOULD TAKE, BUT I DON'T THINK IT'S A RESPONSIBILITY OF, OF THE RESIDENTS THEMSELVES TO BE PLANTING BACK THE TREES ON IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY.
SO I THINK THE C CITY NEEDS TO KIND OF, LIKE I SAY, TAKE INVENTORY TO SEE WHAT TREES ARE SUCCEEDING, WHAT ARE FAILING, AND IF THEY NEED TO BE REPLACED OR IF THEY'RE REMOVED, IF WE COULD PUT THEM BACK.
THANK YOU FOR THAT COMMENT, COMMISSIONER.
UM, SO WHAT WE DIDN'T SAY IN THE REPORT IS THIS WEEK, UM, WE PLANTED OUR 500TH TREE FOR OUR TREE PLANTING SEASON.
AND THIS IS MORE THAN DOUBLE WHAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO ACHIEVE, UH, IN PAST YEARS.
AND IT IS IN PART BECAUSE WE HAVE FUNDING TO BE ABLE TO UTILIZE THE CONSERVATION CORPS.
SO THEY ARE AUGMENTING OUR IN-HOUSE TREE PLANTING CREW.
AND IN ADDITION TO PLANTING TREES, THE CONSERVATION CORPS HAS A WATERING CREW AND THEY, UH, FOR THE LAST FEW DAYS THEY'VE BEEN WATERING TREES.
WE HAVE 200, SO MANY OF THE 500 TREES ARE OUR TYPICAL, UH, RESIDENTIAL REQUESTS WHERE PEOPLE SIGN THE, UH, MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT.
SO, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A PRETTY GOOD LIKELIHOOD
[00:35:01]
THAT THEY'RE GONNA TAKE CARE OF THE TREE THAT THEY REQUESTED.UM, BUT WHEN WE'RE USING THE CONSERVATION CORPS, WE ARE FILLING EMPTY TREE WELLS ON MAJOR COMMERCIAL CORRIDORS.
SO WE'VE RECENTLY REPLANTED TREES ON PACIFIC AVENUE, ON LONG BEACH BOULEVARD, AND THESE ARE, UH, YOU KNOW, ADJACENT TO BUSINESSES THAT AREN'T NECESSARILY GOING TO WATER THEM, RIGHT.
AND SO THE CONSERVATION CORPS HAS 268 TREES ON ITS WATERING LIST, AND IT CAN GET THROUGH THAT LIST IN THREE DAYS OF WATERING.
SO THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT WE'VE EVER DONE BEFORE, UM, IN TERMS OF PROVIDING THIS LEVEL OF SUPPLEMENTAL WATERING.
AND SO WE'LL BE WATCHING THIS CLOSELY, UM, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE IT'S GONNA BE REALLY IMPORTANT THROUGH THE SUMMER MONTHS TO MAINTAIN THAT.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S A GOOD THING ALL AROUND BECAUSE NOT ONLY ARE YOU WATERING THE TREE, BUT SOMEONE ALSO HAS EYES ON THE TREE ON A MUCH MORE REGULAR BASIS TO REPORT ANY ISSUES.
UM, UNFORTUNATELY IN THESE BUSINESS CORRIDORS, A LOT OF TREES JUST GET MYSTERIOUSLY SNAPPED IN HALF.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW HOW WE EVER FIX THAT SITUATION, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, HAVING MORE EYES ON THE STREET IN THE FORM OF CONSERVATION CORPS AND THE THINGS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT IN OUR RETREAT OF BEGINNING TO TRAIN, YOU KNOW, UH, RESIDENT, YOU KNOW, TREE STEWARDS OR AMBASSADORS, IS ANOTHER LONG-TERM EFFORT THAT WE'RE UNDERTAKING.
I ALSO SEE THE LITTLE TAGS NOW ON THE TREES, THE CURE AND FEEDING LITTLE INSTRUCTIONS, WHICH I THINK ARE FANTASTIC.
UM, SO DON'T WORRY ABOUT TRYING TO USE THE TOUCH SCREEN TO, UH, ADD TO THE LIST.
SO I HAVE COMMISSIONER TOLKOFF AND THEN OUR CHAIR.
I, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S ME OR THE SCREEN OR
UM, I WANTED TO ASK, UH, LARRY, UH, YOU SAID IF I, IF I HEARD YOU CORRECTLY, THERE'S, UH, THE CONSERVATION CORPS HAS A, A CREW THAT GOES TO THE TREES AND CAN WATER 268 TREES IN THREE DAYS.
JUST THIS IS ONE CREW, CORRECT? CORRECT.
THEY'RE USING A WATERING TRAILER.
UM, AND SO, AND, AND, AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE WATERING TREES THAT HAVE BEEN PLANTED ON CORRIDORS SEQUENTIALLY.
SO THEY'RE JUST GOING DOWN A STREET WHERE TREES HAVE BEEN WATERED AS OPPOSED TO JUMPING ALL AROUND THE CITY AND WATERING EVERY, YOU KNOW, INDIVIDUAL TREE THAT WE'VE PLANTED.
SO, UH, THEY'RE, THEY'RE ABLE TO, IF, IF WE ARE THINKING THAT THAT'S EFFICIENT, THEY'RE ABLE TO
UM, IF I, IF I MAY OFFER A RESPECTFUL SUGGESTION, AND I HAVE NO QUALIFICATIONS FOR THIS WHATSOEVER OTHER THAN I HAPPEN TO HAVE FRIENDS WHO ARE ARBORISTS.
UM, I THINK MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THE WAY WE NEED TO BE WATERING, ESPECIALLY SAPLINGS, IS A LONG SLOW TRICKLE ABOUT ONCE A MONTH SO THAT THE WATER PERMEATES DEEPLY INTO THE SOIL.
IF WE ONLY DO IT QUICKLY, WHAT HAPPENS IS THE ROOT SYSTEM DEVELOPS VERY HIGH UP.
'CAUSE IT DOESN'T KNOW THERE ARE GOING TO BE DROUGHTS.
AND CONSEQUENTLY THE TREES ARE VERY WEAK WHEN THEY NEED THE MOST HELP DURING OUR DROUGHT SEASON.
SO I'M DOING THE ARITHMETIC IN MY HEAD.
THEY'RE DOING ABOUT 90 TREES A DAY.
I DON'T SEE HOW THEY'RE ABLE TO ACHIEVE A DEEP, SLOW TRICKLE AT ONE CREW.
CAN YOU SPEAK TO THAT OR SPEAK TO THEM ABOUT THAT? I CERTAINLY CAN.
SO, UM, I BELIEVE THAT WE SPOKE TO THE SAME ARBORIST THAT
WE HAVE THE SAME CONCERNS BECAUSE YOU'RE RIGHT, THE WATERING THAT'S GOING ON AT THAT RATE ISN'T A DEEP WATERING AND DEEP WATERINGS ARE DIFFICULT TO ACHIEVE IN TREE WELLS BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF PERMEABILITY OF THE SOIL.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT THESE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO BEGIN TO LOOK INTO, LIKE INSTALLING A PIPER, A FRENCH DRAIN IN THE TREE.
WELL, SO THAT WATER CAN GET DOWN LOWER, BE BE BELOW THE ROOT, UM, STRUCTURE OF, OF THE TREE WHEN IT'S PLANTED.
AND SO THAT SITUATION DOESN'T EXIST RIGHT NOW.
UM, BUT WE'RE VERY AWARE THAT THAT'S A BEST PRACTICE THAT WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MOVE TOWARDS.
AND SO IN THE MEANTIME, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE ACHIEVING THESE SHALLOW WATERINGS, WHICH WILL HELP US, UH, DO A BETTER JOB THAN WHAT WAS GOING ON BEFORE, WHICH WAS HARDLY ANYTHING AT ALL.
RIGHT? AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE, WE ALL UNDERSTAND THAT TREES WILL DIE WITHOUT WATER.
UM, TREES THAT GET MINIMAL WATER MAY STAY ALIVE, BUT THEY WON'T FLOURISH.
AND, AND SO MAXIMIZING THAT WATER AND THAT WATER EFFICIENCY AND THAT DEEP WATERING WILL, UH, DECREASE THE FREQUENCY THAT
[00:40:01]
WE HAVE TO WATER.WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO SPEND MORE TIME AT EACH TREE TO GET THAT DEEP WATERING.
AND SO, YES, WE'RE VERY AWARE OF THAT CHALLENGE AND, UM, ARE GONNA BE CHECKING IN.
'CAUSE THE ONE THING THAT WE HAVEN'T DONE YET IS OBSERVED THE, BECAUSE CONSERVATION CORPS USED THIS PROCESS WHEN THEY WORK FOR OTHER CITIES AND WHEN THEY'VE DONE THEIR OWN TREE PLANTING.
SO WE JUST TURN IT OVER TO THEM TO DO THE SAME FOR US.
BUT WHAT WE HAVEN'T DONE IS VISITED THEM WHILE THEY'RE IN THE PROCESS OF DOING IT TO OBSERVE HOW MANY GALLONS DOES THIS EVEN MEAN, YOU KNOW, UH, AT, AT, AT ONE WATERING.
AND IF THERE'S NO SORT OF SHALLOW DEPRESSION IN THE TREE, WELL, UM, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF FACTORS TO, TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT HERE.
BUT NOW THAT THESE THINGS ARE SET IN MOTION, WE CAN HOPEFULLY, UH, MAKE SOME OBSERVATIONS AND INSTALL SOME CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.
ONE OF THE TREE PLANTINGS, ONE OF THE COMMUNITY TREE PLANTINGS THAT WE DID IN THE, UH, PORTION OF THE BIXBY KNOWLES NEIGHBORHOOD LAST MONTH, I BELIEVE THE RESIDENT OR ONE OF THE RESIDENTS THAT HELPED ORGANIZE IT HAD US INSTALL SECTIONS OF PVC PIPE, UH, VERTICALLY IN THE HOLE FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE, RIGHT? BUT THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT THE NEIGHBORHOOD INTRODUCED.
AND SO WE TOOK NOTE OF THAT AT THE TIME.
PVC ISN'T THE GREATEST THING TO, YOU KNOW, PERMANENTLY INSTALL INTO THE ENVIRONMENT.
BUT, UM, BUT ANYWAY, WE'RE, WE'RE THE, THE INTENT IS TO PILOT SEVERAL DIFFERENT METHODS.
AND IN ANOTHER THING THAT HAPPENED THIS WEEK, JUST TO KEEP TALKING ABOUT TREES AND, AND ALL OF OUR EFFORTS TO DO A BETTER JOB, IS WE HAD THE FIRST, UH, INTERDEPARTMENTAL WORKING GROUP, UM, THAT WE CONVENED ON TUESDAY TO TALK TO PEOPLE FROM PUBLIC WORKS IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF PUBLIC WORKS, BUT ALSO PARKS AND PLANNING.
UM, BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE GEARING UP FOR IS AN URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN, UM, REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS THAT'S GONNA GO OUT.
SO THERE IS GONNA BE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE DOING THIS DOUBLE DUTY OF TRYING TO DO A BETTER JOB OF STRATEGIC PLANNING AND COMING UP WITH BETTER POLICIES AND METHODS OVERALL, BUT STILL TRYING TO PLANT TREES IN THE MEANTIME.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE'LL, WE'LL END UP WITH BETTER OUTCOMES IN THE LONG TERM BY PURSUING ALL OF THESE, UM, EFFORTS.
BUT WE'RE TRYING TO ALSO, YOU KNOW, IMPROVE OUR EFFORTS NOW BEFORE WE'VE HAD THE TIME TO, YOU KNOW, GO THROUGH THE PROCESS, WHICH WILL INCLUDE COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT WITH THE TREE ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND ALL THAT GOOD STUFF.
SO BE PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITIES, UH, IN THE COMING YEAR TO ENGAGE ON, ON ALL OF THESE ISSUES.
THAT WAS A MUCH BETTER AND MORE DETAILED ANSWER THAN I EXPECTED.
AND YOU'VE PUSHED A LOT OF MY BUTTONS IN THE, IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
THESE ARE BABY STEPS, BUT AT LEAST THEY'RE STEPS, WHICH IS A, OH GOD, IT'S A CLICHE TO SAY A GIANT LEAP FROM WHERE WE WERE JUST ABOUT A YEAR AGO.
SO I'M, I'M VERY HAPPY TO HEAR THAT.
AND IF I, I'M, I DON'T WANT TO PREACH TO THE CHOIR, BUT
WHICH MEANS ALL OF THE EFFORT THAT WE PUT INTO PLANTING THAT TREE WAS WASTED, WE MIGHT AS WELL HAVE, YOU KNOW, POURED CONCRETE SOMEPLACE ELSE OR SOMETHING WITH THE MONEY.
SO I WOULD, UH, ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO CHAT WITH THEIR COUNCIL MEMBERS SO THAT THIS INFORMATION TO CAN PERCOLATE UP TO POLICYMAKERS AND MAYBE BE, UH, A MORE IMPORTANT ISSUE IN FRONT OF THEM.
AND WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET SOME MORE ASSETS, UH, IN TERM MEANING MONEY TO, UH, STAFF TO ADVANCE THESE.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, LARRY, DEAR.
UM, I'M GONNA CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION ABOUT TREES.
UM, LAST OUR CONSULT MEETING, I HEAR ABOUT THAT NEXT YEAR AS YOU'RE PLANNING TO, UM, TO USE OR START USING OR TO, WHAT DO YOU SAY? I MEAN, YOU GONNA BRING IT TO LIVE THE, UH, THE APPLICATION THAT WE WORKED TOGETHER, UH, TWO YEARS AGO.
UM, CAN YOU TELL ME A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT? BECAUSE THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT.
I THINK THAT THAT APPLICATION FOR THOSE THAT YOU DON'T KNOW, TWO YEARS AGO, THE, UM, OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY, UH, OTHER ORGAN, GOOGLE AND ANOTHER ORGANIZATION AMONG, I MEAN POINTE, WE PUT TOGETHER A LOT OF EFFORTS ON CREATING THIS APPLICATION.
THE APPLICATION WILL HELP PEOPLE TO SEE WHERE THEY ARE, THE TREES ARE, AND IF THEY SEE A TREE THAT IT WAS KIND OF LIKE, UM, IN THE BAD SITUATION, THEY CAN REPORT IT.
THEY, THEY CAN, THEY CAN REPORT IT TO A GROUP OF PEOPLE, NOT TO THE CITY, BUT ANOTHER PEOPLE THAT THEY WANNA TAKE CARE OF THE, THE TREES.
SO WE ALL COMBINED CAN TAKE CARE OF,
[00:45:01]
OF THE TREES, UH, EVERYWHERE.SO, BUT IT HAPPENED THAT, UM, SOMETHING HAPPENED AND THE CITY KEPT IT.
BUT I, I HEAR THAT YOU ARE PLANNING NOW TO MAKE IT LIFE, RIGHT? YES.
AND, AND I WANNA CAUTION US FOR GOING TOO FAR OFF PATH ON, ON DETAILED TREE STUFF, UM, UM, IN THE INTEREST OF TIME AND, AND THAT THAT'S NOT, UH, THAT TOPIC OF THIS ITEM MAINLY, BUT YOU'RE CORRECT.
THE TREE MAP, AS WE WERE CALLING IT, AS WE WERE DEVELOPING IT A COUPLE YEARS AGO, UM, HAS KIND OF BEEN IN A HOLDING PATTERN.
BUT WHAT WE DO HAVE A COMMITMENT TO IS, REMEMBER WE NEEDED TO TRANSFER IT FROM BEING HELD BY GOOGLE WHO HELPED DEVELOP IT TO BEING HELD BY THE CITY.
AND THERE IS SOME FUNDING AVAILABLE FOR OUR, UH, UH, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION DEPARTMENT TO HELP MAKE THAT TRANSITION.
SO, YOU KNOW, THAT IS MEANT TO BE ONE OF THE TOOLS THAT'S FOLDED INTO THIS BROADER RESIDENT, UM, STEWARDSHIP EFFORT.
AND IT, IT'LL ALL BE PART OF THE, THE THINGS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON IN THE COMING YEAR.
NOW, AND ALSO WHAT I'M GONNA MENTION IS THAT I AM PART OF THE ADVISORY THREE ADVISORY COMMITTEE, AND DURING THE CONVERSATION WITH THE STAFF, THEY MENTIONED THAT THEY WANT TO PUT, UH, PERMEABLE, UH, CONCRETE PERMEABLE PAYMENTS AROUND THE TREES WHEN THEY PLANTED THAT WAY AFTER THE THREE YEARS, WHEN IT'S MAINTENANCE, THEY, THE TREES GONNA BE ABLE TO SOMEHOW GET THE WATER.
UM, BUT I'M GONNA REPEAT IT AGAIN, AND I'M SORRY, BUT THE POLICY, THE POLICY EXISTED ALREADY, BUT THE CODE IS NOT ALLOWING THESE KIND OF PROJECTS AS YOU'RE GONNA WORK ON THAT KIND OF PROJECT THAT CAN ALLOW TO BUILD IN CERTAIN AREAS THE ABILITY, I MEAN, TO BUILD, UH, PERMEABLE PAYMENT TO CAN HELP NOT ONLY THE TREES, BUT TO, YOU KNOW, TO, UM, GET THE WATER WHERE IT FALL AND NOT WAIT FOR THE CITY TO GO TO, YOU KNOW, THE OCEAN.
RIGHT? SO THE GOOD THING ABOUT THAT IS THAT IT'S PUBLIC WORKS POLICY THAT, UM, CAN IN SOME CASES PROHIBIT THE USE OF PERMEABLE PAVEMENT IN, IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY, BUT IT'S ACTUALLY THE PUBLIC WORKS STAFF THAT'S INTERESTED IN PILOTING THAT.
SO, UH, YOU KNOW, IT, IT, IT'S GREAT THAT IT'S ORIGINATING FROM THE DEPARTMENT THAT HAS THE DIRECT ABILITY TO ALTER THE POLICY, RIGHT? SO, UM, WE LEARNED ABOUT THAT AS WELL AND IT WAS VERY EXCITING NEWS.
AND, UM, OUR, OUR NEXT AGENDA ITEM DOESN'T SPEAK TO THAT DIRECTLY, BUT MORE ON, UH, THE BROADER ADOPTION OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE IN GENERAL.
SO, UM, SO STAY TUNED FOR THAT BECAUSE THAT IS PART OF THE REASON, UM, TO KIND OF BRING THIS BACK TO THE THINGS THAT WE DISCUSSED IN THIS, UM, UH, ITEM THE ADOPTION OF OUR WORK PLAN THAT HAS A GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE ITEM.
OUR, OUR NEXT AGENDA ITEM IS INSPIRED BY THAT GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE ITEM.
SO WE'RE GONNA LEARN MORE ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT YOU'RE INTRODUCING HERE.
IS THERE, IS THERE ANY WAY THAT THE COMMISSION CAN ACTUALLY RECOMMEND OR SEND A LETTER TO THE, THE COUNCIL ASKING THEM TO WORK OR MAYBE TO MAKE A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE POLICIES THAT EXISTED AND WITH THE CODE THAT DOESN'T SUPPORT THESE POLICIES TO BECOME A MORE SUSTAINABLE CITY? BECAUSE I MEAN, BELIEVE ME, WHOEVER WORKED ON THE, IN THE CAP, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS WATERED DOWN A LOT, IT'S STILL A GOOD, A GOOD PAPER, A GOOD, UH, POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS.
BUT IF WE DON'T HAVE THE CODE TO SUPPORT THIS RECOMMENDATION, IT'S JUST DREAMS THERE THAT NOT DON'T, DON'T GO ANYWHERE.
SO MY QUESTION WILL BE, IS THERE ANY WAY THAT THE COMMISSION CAN DO SOMETHING TO, TO MAYBE BRING THIS TO THE NEXT LEVEL AND MAYBE START LOOKING ON COMPARISON OR, OR WHATEVER THEY NEED TO DO TO RIGHT IN THE CODE? WELL, THERE CERTAIN, THERE CERTAINLY IS A WAY, AND IN A CERTAIN SENSE IT'S ALREADY HAPPENED IN THE FORM OF THE COUNCIL'S ADOPTION OF OUR WORK PLAN, BECAUSE THERE'S LANGUAGE EXACTLY LIKE THAT IN THE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE ITEM THAT TALKS ABOUT, UM, TAKING A LOOK AT THE POLICIES AND REVISITING THEM.
UM, THERE'S MULTIPLE POLICIES IN PLAY THERE, BUT ONE OF THEM IS THE LOW IMPACT DEVELOPMENT POLICY THAT, THAT CITY COUNCIL ADOPTED AT, YOU KNOW, AT THEIR INITIATIVE 10 YEARS AGO.
UM, THAT HAS BEEN CHURNING AWAY AFFECTING PRIVATE DEVELOPMENT AND SOME, UH, PUBLIC PROJECTS.
AND SO WE'VE AL WITH THEIR APPROVAL OF THAT ITEM, WE'VE ALREADY BEEN, YOU KNOW, KIND OF GIVEN THE MARCHING ORDERS TO, TO MAKE THOSE INTERACTIONS AND DO THAT ANALYSIS.
SO WE DON'T NEED TO ASK 'EM AGAIN.
THEY ALREADY GAVE US PERMISSION.
SO WHEN, MY QUESTION IS WHEN YOU SAW POLICIES, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE, THE PROBLEM IS, WHEN
[00:50:01]
I READ THAT, UH, I COULDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN POLICIES AND CODE AND WHEN IT SAYS POLICIES, I NEVER WAS LIKE, UH, UNDERSTOOD.AND I THOUGHT THAT THE, THE LANGUAGE WAS A LITTLE BIT WEAK OR MAYBE TOO OPEN TO BRAD, BUT THAT'S PERSONAL, SO DON'T WORRY.
AND I JUST WANT TO MENTION THAT I KNOW THAT'S IN OUR WORK PLAN TO HAVE THOSE DISCUSSIONS, SO WHEN THOSE ITEMS COME UP, WE CAN GO INTO MORE DETAIL ON THOSE.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMISSIONERS? I DON'T SEE ANY.
I'LL JUST, UM, AS WE CLOSE THIS, UH, EXPRESS MY APPRECIATION FOR CHEF PAUL AND DANA FOR COMING OUT AND PRESENTING.
UH, IT'S GREAT THAT WE HAVE A LOT MORE GREEN BUSINESSES BEING CERTIFIED, BUT YOU'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR MUCH LONGER AND, AND REALLY BEEN, UH, TRAILBLAZERS IN THAT AREA, SO THANK YOU.
SO WE HAVE A, UH, MOTION AND A SECOND IN FRONT OF US AS AMENDED, UH, TO RECEIVE AND FILE A PRESENTATION AND SEND A LETTER TO THE COUNCIL.
I'LL ASK FOR THE CITY CLERK TO TALLY THE VOTE.
UM, AND WHEN WE'RE ABLE, I CAN DO A VERBAL VOTE.
UM, I NEED TO GET LOGGED BACK INTO THE VOTING SCREEN WHEN YOU HAVE A CHANCE.
YEAH, BUT I, I VOTE IN SUPPORT.
AND THEN IS COMMISSIONER KRO, CAN YOU SEE IT ON YOUR SCREEN? YEAH.
SO WE'LL NOW MOVE TO OUR LAST ITEM OF RECOMMENDATION TO RECEIVE
[3. 24-53062 Recommendation to receive and file a presentation from Accelerate Resilience Los Angeles on Advancing Resilience through Distributed Stormwater Capture and Conservation. Suggested Action: Approve recmmendation. ]
AND FILE PRESENTATION FROM ACCELERATE RESILIENCE LOS ANGELES ON ADVANCING RESILIENCE THROUGH DISTRIBUTED STORM WATER CAPTURE AND CONSERVATION.I UNDERSTAND WE'LL HAVE SOMEONE JOINING US THROUGH, UH, THE WEB.
SO WE'VE INVITED, UH, ARLA AS, AS THEIR, UH, REV NAME GOES, UM, TO PRESENT REMOTELY BECAUSE THERE ARE, I, I BELIEVE WE HAVE, UH, PRESENTER TEAM OF THREE DIFFERENT FOLKS, UM, SOME OF WHICH ARE IN THE BAY AREA.
AND SO GIVE US A MOMENT 'CAUSE IT'S BEEN A MINUTE SINCE WE'VE HAD TO ATTEMPT A, A HYBRID PRESENTATION.
BUT, UM, THEY'RE STANDING BY ON ZOOM AND I'LL LET TECH SERVICES, UH, GET THEM UP ON THE SCREEN.
DEVIN, ARE YOU ABLE TO HEAR US? YEAH, WE CAN, CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES.
SO I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO, UH, DEVIN WITH ARLA TO, UH, KICK OFF THEIR PRESENTATION.
UM, BUT I WILL JUST SAY THAT THIS PRESENTATION WAS INSPIRED BY OUR GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE ITEM AND, UM, AS WE WERE ABOUT TO LEARN, THERE'S SOME MAJOR EFFORTS GOING ON, UH, REGIONALLY, UM, UH, FOR THIS WHOLE IDEA OF DISTRIBUTED STORMWATER CAPTURE AND WATER CONSERVATION THAT VERY MUCH WILL SPEAK TO A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IN TERMS OF GETTING MORE WATER INTO THE GROUND TO, UH, HELP OUR URBAN FOREST, AMONG OTHER THINGS.
I'M WITH ACCELERATE RESILIENCE LA OR ARLA.
WE ARE A NONPROFIT, UH, PROJECT OF ROCKEFELLER PHILANTHROPY ADVISORS.
UM, WE WERE FOUNDED BY ANDY LIPKA, WHO'S THE FOUNDER, UH, AND PRESIDENT OF TREE PEOPLE.
AND OUR MISSION IS REALLY OUR NAME TO ACCELERATE CLIMATE RESILIENCE IN THE LA COUNTY AREA.
UM, TODAY WE'RE PRESENTING TO YOU ON A RECENT REPORT THAT WE WRAPPED UP, WHICH IS A ROADMAP TO ADVANCE RESILIENCE THROUGH DISTRIBUTED STORMWATER CAPTURE AND CONSERVATION.
UM, THIS STUDY WAS REALLY DEVELOPED TO PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS TO MET WATER DISTRICT FOR HOW THEY CAN TRANSITION THEMSELVES INTO A NEW ERA OF WATER MANAGEMENT.
BUT THERE ARE SOME FINDINGS THAT WE THINK WILL BE OF INTEREST TO YOU, UM, AND, AND OTHER MUNICIPALITIES.
AND WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOU, UH, INVITING US TO SPEAK TO YOU THIS AFTERNOON.
UM, AND ACCOMMODATING US ON ZOOM.
OUR PROJECT TEAM WAS A ROBUST GROUP OF CONSULTANTS AND PARTNERS.
UM, JOINED WITH ME TODAY AS JEFF OEE FROM ONE WATER ECON AND CAROLINE COOK FROM WATER NOW ALLIANCE.
THEY'LL BE, UM, PICKING UP A LITTLE LATER IN THE PRESENTATION.
UH, WE ALSO HAD PARTNERS FROM THE NATURE CONSERVANCY, CRAFT WATER ENGINEERING, THE RESOURCE CONSERVATION DISTRICT OF THE SANTA MONICA MOUNTAINS AND G THREE A LANDSCAPE DESIGN, UH, COMPANY.
SO WHY DID WE DO, UH, A STUDY ABOUT DISTRIBUTED STORMWATER CAPTURE AND CONSERVATION? WHILE WE ARE REALLY AT AN INFLECTION POINT FOR WATER MANAGEMENT IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, OUR WATER AGENCIES ARE GRAPPLING WITH THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE, HAVING, UH, YEARS OF DROUGHT FOLLOWED BY HEAVY WET YEARS, UM, CREATING ADDITIONAL UNCERTAINTY FOR THEIR WATER SUPPLIES.
WE ARE FACING, UH, INCREASED CUTBACKS ON IMPORTED
[00:55:01]
WATER SUPPLIES FROM THE COLORADO RIVER AND THE STATE WATER PROJECT.AND, UH, WATER AGENCIES ARE BRACING FOR NEW, UH, CONSERVATION REGULATIONS FOR OUTDOOR WATER USE EFFICIENCY.
AND SO ALL OF THESE THINGS HAVE, UH, CREATED MOMENTUM TO THINK ABOUT SORT OF A NEW PARADIGM FOR WATER MANAGEMENT.
AND LAST YEAR MET WATER DISTRICT, UH, INITIATED A CLIMATE ADAPTATION MASTER PLANNING PROCESS, WHICH IS STILL GOING ON AS WE SPEAK, AND IS REALLY AN OPPORTUNITY FOR MET TO REEVALUATE ITS BUSINESS MODEL AND ITS ROLE IN THE REGION.
AND SO THIS STUDY WAS DEVELOPED TO REALLY INFORM METROPOLITAN WITH SOME IDEAS TO CONSIDER AS IT REEVALUATES ITS FUTURE OUR STUDY APPROACH INVOLVED MODELING WATER OPPORTUN WATERSHED OPPORTUNITIES TO ENHANCE STORM WATER CAPTURE AND CONSERVATION AT THE PARCEL LEVEL.
IN THREE STUDY AREAS, YOU CAN SEE THE STUDY AREAS ON OUR MAP.
UH, ONE OF THOSE STUDY AREAS WAS THE CITY OF LONG BEACH.
WE ALSO LOOKED AT THE LOWER SAN GABRIEL RIVER WATERSHED AREA, WHICH IS ON THE MAP IN SORT OF A PINK PURPLE COLOR.
AND WE ALSO LOOKED AT THE LAS VIRGINS MET WATER DISTRICT AREA IN ORANGE.
UM, THOSE AREAS WERE SELECTED IN CONSULTATION WITH STAFF FROM MET WATER DISTRICT, AND IT WAS REALLY JUST, UH, SELECTED IN ORDER TO GET A GOOD CROSS SECTION OF HYDROGEOLOGIC CONDITIONS, UM, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN THE STUDY AREAS.
CRAFT WATER ENGINEERING THEN, UH, QUANTIFIED AND MONETIZED THE BENEFITS OF MODELED BMPS ON PARCELS IN THESE AREAS.
SO WE, WE SIMULATED WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE TO INSTALL DIFFERENT TYPES OF CONSERVATION AND STORMWATER CAPTURE, UH, RETROFITS.
AND WE CALCULATED WHAT THE BENEFITS OF THOSE INTERVENTIONS WOULD BE AND THEN MONETIZE THE VALUE OF THOSE CO-BENEFITS.
WE THEN LOOKED AT OPPORTUNITIES TO DO MULTI-PAYER CO-FUNDING, UM, THAT'S PROPORTIONAL TO THE BENEFITS THAT WOULD BE RECEIVED.
AND THEN WE LOOKED AT DIFFERENT ALTERNATIVE PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION AND DELIVERY MODELS, UM, FOR DELIVERING CONSERVATION PROGRAMS ACROSS THE REGION.
THE RESULTING REPORT IS A ROADMAP WITH EIGHT RECOMMENDED STEPS FOR METROPOLITAN TO CONSIDER AS IT EMBARKS ON SORT OF A NEW FUTURE.
UM, AND WE'RE GONNA WALK THROUGH EACH OF THESE ONE BY ONE TODAY.
BUT AGAIN, SOME OF THESE STEPS INVOLVE DEEPENING PARTNERSHIPS WITH MUNICIPALITIES AND OTHER LOCAL WATER RETAILERS.
AND SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THIS TODAY.
UM, AND SORT OF SEE WHERE, WHERE YOU MIGHT COME IN.
THE FIRST STEP IN THE ROADMAP IS TO REALLY UPDATE CONSERVATION AND INCENTIVE PROGRAM OFFERINGS.
SO OUR WATERSHED MODELING LOOKED AT WHICH TYPES OF RETROFITS ARE MOST EFFICIENT AND MOST BENEFICIAL IN THE STUDY AREAS THAT WE LOOKED AT.
AND ONE OF THE KEY FINDINGS WAS THAT WE CAN GLEAN SIGNIFICANTLY MORE BENEFITS WHEN WE TAKE A LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATION APPROACH AS OPPOSED TO TRADITIONAL TURF REPLACEMENT OR TURF CONVERSION.
I'LL TALK MORE ABOUT THAT ON THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, WE ALSO FOUND SOME SIGNIFICANT BENEFITS FOR CISTERNS AS A, AS A WAY OF CAPTURING, UH, OR OFFSETTING IRRIGATION DEMAND AND CAPTURING STORM WATER IN OUR REALLY WET YEARS LIKE WE'VE HAD THIS YEAR.
UM, AND THOSE CISTERNS PROVIDE EVEN MORE CO-BENEFITS WHEN THEY'RE INSTALLED IN, UH, NEIGHBORHOODS THAT HAVE RISKS FOR WILDFIRE, LIKE IN THE LAS VIRGINS STUDY AREA THAT WOULD BE LOOKED AT.
WE ALSO RECOMMEND, UM, EMPHASIZING THE CONVERSION OF NON-FUNCTIONAL TURF ON COMMERCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL PROPERTIES WITH A LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATION APPROACH AND ENHANCING BUYER RETENTION ON COMMERCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL PROPERTIES AS WELL.
ULTIMATELY, WE'RE ENVISIONING A SCENARIO WHERE A MET WATER DISTRICT MIGHT BUNDLE REBATE PROGRAMS IN SORT OF A MENU APPROACH IN ORDER TO GET FOLKS TO DO MORE, UM, WHEN THEY COME TO THE TABLE AND SIGN UP FOR A REBATE.
AND SO JUST TO PROVIDE A LITTLE MORE CONTEXT ON WHAT WE MEAN BY LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATION, UM, THE IMAGE ON THE LEFT HERE IS AN EXAMPLE LANDSCAPE THAT YOU MIGHT TYPICALLY GET THROUGH A TRADITIONAL TURF REPLACEMENT PROGRAM.
AND THIS LANDSCAPE DOES A GREAT JOB OF REDUCING THE WATER DEMAND OF, OF A TRADITIONAL, UH, TURF LAWN.
AT THE SAME TIME, HOWEVER, THIS LANDSCAPE IS ALSO, UM, NOT, NOT MAXIMIZING THE CO-BENEFITS THAT ARE POSSIBLE IN, IN THE GROUND.
AND SO, UM, WHILE THIS IS DOING A GOOD JOB TO REDUCE WATER USE, IT IS NOT ENHANCING SOIL HEALTH.
IT'S ACTUALLY COMPACTING THE SOIL.
IT CAN, UM, OFTENTIMES INADVERTENTLY FURTHER TIFY AND DRY OUT THE SOIL, WHICH CREATES HOTTER CONDITIONS INSTEAD OF COOLER, UH, MICROCLIMATES THAT WE'D LIKE TO ENCOURAGE.
AND SO THE, THE IMAGE ON THE RIGHT HAND
[01:00:01]
SIDE IS A DENSE AND DIVERSELY PLANTED GARDEN.UM, REALLY EMPHASIZING ROOT STRUCTURE TO PROMOTE GREATER SOIL HEALTH, TO RETAIN A GREATER STORMWATER CAPTURE IN THE ROOT ZONE OF THOSE PLANTS, UM, AND TO PROMOTE GREATER COOLING, GREATER ENERGY EFFICIENCY, MORE CARBON REDUCTION, MORE HABITAT, MORE BIODIVERSITY.
UH, AND THESE ARE REALLY THE SUITE OF CO-BENEFITS THAT WE WANT TO BE EMPHASIZING IF WE'RE GOING TO BE INVESTING IN CONSERVATION PROGRAMS. STEP TWO OF OUR, OUR ROADMAP IS TO APPROPRIATELY RECOGNIZE THE VALUE OF CONSERVATION.
SO IN THIS NEW CLIMATE RE REALITY, UH, THE VALUE OF WATER CONSERVATION IS HIGHER THAN EVER BEFORE.
UM, AN ACRE FOOT OF WATER CONSERVED IS AN ACRE FOOT OF WATER THAT DOES NOT NEED TO BE IMPORTED OR DEVELOPED THROUGH COSTLY ALTERNATIVE SUPPLY SOURCES.
UM, METS LONG-TERM FINANCIAL PLAN SHOWS AN AVERAGE COST OF $3,000 PER ACRE FOOT PER YEAR FOR CORE SUPPLY SOURCES OF WATER.
AND THEIR DEFINITION OF CORE SUPPLY INCLUDES CONSERVATION AND EFFICIENCY.
BUT INVESTING IN CONSERVATION PROGRAMS IS MUCH CHEAPER THAN INVESTING IN NEW SUPPLY SOURCES AND, AND NEW SUPPLY INFRASTRUCTURE LIKE THE PURE WATER PROJECT THAT YOU MAY HAVE HEARD ABOUT, WHICH IS A RECYCLED WATER PROJECT.
AND SO, UH, VIEWING CONSERVATION AS A MEANINGFUL SOURCE OF WATER SUPPLY IS KEY COMPONENT OF SHIFTING FROM HAVING A MET BE BE VIEWED AS PRIMARILY A WATER IMPORTER TO ACTUALLY TAKING ON A, A GREATER REGIONAL ROLE AS A WATERSHED MANAGER.
THE THIRD STEP IN THIS ROADMAP IS TO LOOK FOR IDEAL OPPORTUNITY AREAS AND PRIORITY BMPS THAT ARE APPROPRIATE FOR EACH NEIGHBORHOOD, AND THEN TARGET PROGRAMS AND OUTREACH TO THE BMPS THAT ARE SUITABLE IN THOSE AREAS.
AND SO, UM, WE HAVE TAKEN A STEP OF UPLOADING ALL OF THE MODELING DATA THAT CRAFT WATER ENGINEERING PUT TOGETHER FOR THIS PROJECT INTO AN INTERACTIVE DASHBOARD, UM, THAT WE CAN SHARE WITH YOU AFTER THIS MEETING.
THIS SCREENSHOT ON, ON THIS SLIDE, IT GIVES YOU SORT OF A SENSE OF HOW IT WORKS, UM, AND THAT ALLOWS YOU TO VIEW BY CENSUS BLOCK WHERE THERE IS SORT OF A DENSITY OR A CONCENTRATION OF OPPORTUNITIES IN THE LANDSCAPE FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF, OF INTERVENTIONS.
UM, AND SO THIS, THIS SCREENSHOT IS SHOWING YOU WHERE SORT OF A HEAT MAP APPROACH OF WHERE THERE'S THE GREATEST POTENTIAL FOR LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATION, UM, IN, IN LONG BEACH.
THE DARKER GREEN CENSUS BLOCKS INDICATE A HIGHER, UH, NUMBER OF PARCELS WITH, WITH OPPORTUNITY, AND THEN THE RESULTING BENEFITS THAT WOULD COME FROM MAKING THOSE INTERVENTIONS.
AND I'M GONNA, UH, TURN IT OVER TO JEFF TO CONTINUE THE PRESENTATION.
UH, AND I'LL ECHO DEVIN'S APPRECIATION TO THE COMMISSION FOR INVITING US TO SPEND SOME TIME WITH YOU THIS AFTERNOON.
I ALSO WANNA APPRECIATE LARRY RICH AND SOME OF THE OTHER CITY STAFF.
UM, THEY WERE PART, THEY WERE WILLING TO PARTICIPATE IN SOME INTERVIEWS AND CONVERSATIONS ALONG WITH OTHER STAKEHOLDERS REALLY INFORMED THIS ROADMAP.
THE, THE FOURTH STEP IN OUR ROADMAP OF, OF, OF PROCESS FOR REALLY DIRECTED AT METROPOLITAN WATER, BUT COULD BE APPROPRIATE FOR LONG BEACH WATER OR OTHER MEMBER AGENCIES, METROPOLITAN AGENCIES, IS TO SET AN OUTDOOR CONSERVATION TARGET.
AND WE RECOGNIZE THAT METS INCENTIVE PROGRAM AND THE IN THE WATER DISTRICT IN MANY, MANY MEMBER WATER AGENCIES HAVE TURF REMOVAL GOALS OR METRICS.
AND WHAT WE'RE SUGGESTING IS KIND OF A FUNDAMENTAL SHIFT AWAY FROM MEASURING SUCCESS IN TERMS OF THE NUMBER OF SQUARE FEET OF TURF THAT GET REMOVED, BUT INSTEAD BY MEASURING SUCCESS BY THE AMOUNT OF WATER, UH, THAT IS CONSERVED IN THE VALUE OF THAT CONSERVATION.
SO IT STARTS WITH SETTING A VOLUME METRIC, OUTDOOR WATER CONSERVATION TARGET, ALONG WITH SOME STORMWATER CAPTURE GOALS.
AND THEN WITH THAT, THOSE TARGETS IN MIND, IT'S, IT'S POSSIBLE FOR METROPOLITAN MEMBER AGENCIES TO, TO DEVELOP, UM, DEVELOP A PLAN, A STRATEGY TO ACHIEVE THOSE GOALS, RIGHT? AND THAT STARTS WITH PROVIDING ENOUGH RESOURCES THAT'LL BE BUDGET OR STAFF RESOURCES OR PARTNERSHIP RESOURCES, UM, THAT ARE APPROPRIATE AND SCALED TO GETTING TO THOSE, THOSE TARGETS.
BUT THE OTHER GREAT THING ABOUT KIND OF HAVING AN OBJECTIVE, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, WATER CONSERVATION GOAL IS THAT IT REALLY ENABLES TRANSPARENCY ALLOWS THE WATER DEPARTMENTS TO TRACK PROGRESS AND THEN REPORT THAT PROJECT BACK OUT TO THE COMMUNITY USING SOMETHING LIKE A DASHBOARD THAT DEVIN JUST SHARED.
UM, AND BUILDING COMMUNITY SUPPORT AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AROUND WATER CONSERVATION.
THIS WE, WE DEVELOPED, UH, AND WE'RE GONNA SHARE WITH YOU ON THE NEXT SLIDE, A A KIND OF AN EXCEL BASED SPREAD TOOL SPREADSHEET, A TOOL.
UM, IT CAN BE USEFUL IN MATCHING A BUDGET TO THESE, THE GOALS THAT WE'RE SUGGESTING.
SO I'M GONNA HAND IT OVER TO MY COLLEAGUE FRIEND CAROLINE FROM WATER, AN ALLIANCE, AND SHE'S GONNA TAKE US THROUGH WHAT LOOKS, UM, SHOCKINGLY IN IMPOSING
[01:05:01]
MOST SPREADSHEETS DO, BUT I THINK YOU'LL FIND IT USEFUL.AND TO AGAIN, REITERATE MY COLLEAGUES, IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU ALL.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY THIS EVENING.
UM, I'M CAROLINE WITH WATER NOW ALLIANCE.
UM, AND YEAH, SO A QUICK NOTE ON THE EXCEL BASED PLANNING TOOL.
UM, I'LL GET INTO MORE IN A MOMENT.
BUT TO INFORM THE NEXT COUPLE OF STEPS IN THE ROADMAP, THE PROJECT TEAM DEVELOPED THIS, UM, FANCY SPREADSHEET, UM, THAT ALLOWS MET AS WELL AS OTHERS LIKE LONG BEACH, UM, OUR OTHER, UM, WATER AGENCIES IN THE REGION TO TEST VARIOUS CONSERVATION BUDGETS, CO-FUNDER ALLOCATIONS, UM, AND THEN SEE THE RESULTING VALUE OF THOSE MULTIPLE BENEFITS THAT DEVIN WAS TALKING ABOUT, UM, AS YOU TEST THOSE VARIOUS SCENARIOS.
UM, SO SINCE THIS IS A PLANNING TOOL, IT IS CUSTOMIZABLE AND ALL OF THOSE GREEN CELLS THAT YOU SEE THERE ON THE SLIDE ARE THE INFORMATION, UM, THAT THE WATER AGENCIES AND MANAGERS CAN INPUT TO TEST THOSE VARIOUS SCENARIOS.
UM, SO IF WE GO ON TO STEP FIVE ON OUR NEXT SLIDE WITH THAT PLANNING TOOL IN HAND, UM, THE NEXT STEP IN THE ROADMAP IS TO IDENTIFY AND CALCULATE THE VALUE OF THOSE CO-BENEFITS.
UM, BUT A HEAD START ON THIS STUFF, THE PLANNING TOOL INCORPORATES, UM, WELL-ESTABLISHED METHODOLOGY, UM, FOR DETERMINING THE ECONOMIC VALUE OF A ROBUST SUITE OF BENEFITS THAT FALL INTO, UM, MORE THAN SEVEN CATEGORIES, WHICH I'LL JUST HIGHLIGHT A COUPLE.
AND ONE WATER ECON, UM, REALLY TOOK A LEAD ON ON DEVELOPING THIS TOOL AS OUR, OUR RESIDENT ECONOM, UH, ECONOMISTS.
UM, BUT SOME OF THE, THE BENEFITS THAT ARE HIGHLIGHTED ARE THE FIRE RISK REDUCTION PIECE FROM THOSE LARGE VOLUME SYSTEMS THAT DEVIN MENTIONED.
UM, COMMUNITY UPLIFT THAT CAPTURES, UM, A COMBINATION OF FACTORS THAT ARE REALLY POINTING TO THE VALUE OF URBAN GREENING, UM, THAT CREATES THOSE MORE LIVABLE, ECONOMICALLY VIBRANT NEIGHBORHOODS, UM, HABITAT AND BIODIVERSITY, AS WELL AS OTHER BENEFITS ON HEAT STRESS REDUCTION AND GREEN JOBS, UM, UH, AMONG THE OTHERS.
SO THEN ACHIEVING THESE CO-BENEFITS, UM, THROUGH THE TYPE OF INCENTIVES THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT MAY BE OF INTEREST TO LONG BEACH.
AS WE HEARD FROM YOUR, YOUR CLIMATE ACTION PLAN AND SOME OF THE EARLIER DISCUSSION.
UM, THESE REALLY ARE ALIGNING WITH YOUR CLIMATE ACTION PLAN GOALS FOR DEVELOPING WATER USE EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS, EXPANDING THE URBAN FOREST COVER AND INCREASING VEGETATION, INCREASED USE OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, THOSE BIO RETENTION INCENTIVES ON THE COMMERCIAL INDUSTRIAL INSTITUTIONAL PROPERTIES.
UM, AND THEN MAXIMIZING THOSE LOCAL WATER SUPPLY THROUGH THE RAINWATER CAPTURE, WHICH IS REALLY AT THE HEART OF THESE, UM, UH, LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATION, UM, BMPS AND INTERVENTIONS AS WELL.
SO THEN ON TO STEP SIX, UH, ONCE THE CONSERVATION TARGET IS SET AND THE CO-BENEFITS HAVE BEEN VALUED, THE NEXT STEP IS TO IDENTIFY HOW MUCH IT'S GONNA COST TO MEET THOSE TARGETS AND, UM, IDENTIFY WHERE THE FUNDING IS GONNA COME FROM.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE SLIDE, THIS IS, UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE SET A CONSERVATION TARGET OF A THOUSAND ACRE FEET OF POTABLE WATER OFFSET A YEAR.
UM, SO IF, IF THAT GOAL, THE TOTAL COST OF ACHIEVING THAT TARGET IS 125 MILLION, UH, BUT THE PLANNING TOOL, UH, IS SET UP TO PROVIDE A WAY TO DIVVY UP THESE COSTS AMONGST THE VARIOUS CO BENEFICIARIES.
UM, AND ONE WAY TO ALLOCATE THOSE COSTS AMONGST THOSE CO-FUNDERS IS ROUGHLY MATCHING THE BENEFITS WITH THE COST SHARE.
UM, SO IN OUR EXAMPLE HERE, STORMWATER BENEFITS ARE ABOUT 30% OF THE TOTAL, WHICH YOU SAW THAT PIE CHART ON THE EARLIER SLIDE.
UM, SO STORMWATER AGENCIES IN THE REGION MAY BE WILLING TO CONTRIBUTE 30% OF THE COST FOR RETAIL WATER AGENCIES, GIVEN THAT 40% OF THE BENEFITS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE POTABLE WATER OFFSET.
AND CONSIDERING THAT SOME OF THE BENEFITS ACCRUE TO MET ON THE, THE WATER CONSERVATION SIDE, UH, WE'VE GOT RETAILERS CONTRIBUTING 20% OF THE COST, UM, FOR CUSTOMERS FOR THAT LINE.
ON THE, THE COST SHARE PIECE, THE ROADMAP IS PROPOSING ESSENTIALLY FLIPPING THE SCRIPT ON THE PERCENT OF THE COST THAT CUSTOMERS HAVE BEEN, UM, TRADITIONALLY CONTRIBUTING TO THESE TYPES OF CONSERVATION.
UM, TURF CHANGE OUTS AND LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATION.
GENERALLY, CUSTOMERS ARE COVERING 90% OF THE COSTS WE
[01:10:01]
ARE PROPOSING, UM, THAT THEY COVER 10% OF THAT COST, UM, WHILE MAINTAINING, YOU KNOW, A COST EFFECTIVE APPROACH TO THESE CHANGE OUTS WITH THE CO-PAYS, UM, COVERING THE OTHER 90%.SO IN ANY EVENT, UM, THIS IS JUST A STATIC EXAMPLE THAT WE'VE PROVIDED IN THE ROADMAP.
UM, BUT JUST TO REITERATE THAT THE PLANNING TOOL REALLY IS JUST THAT, A PLANNING TOOL THAT YOU CAN LOOK AT MANY POSSIBILITIES, AND ULTIMATELY IT'S GONNA BE A POLICY CHOICE ON HOW THESE, UM, COSTS ARE DIVVIED UP AGAINST, AMONGST THE, UH, VARIOUS CO CO BENEFICIARIES.
UM, AND THEN SPEAKING OF CO BENEFICIARIES ON OUR NEXT SLIDE, I WILL NOTE TOO THAT THE PLANNING TOOL DOESN'T CAPTURE EVERY SINGLE POTENTIAL BENEFICIARY OF THESE LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATIONS, UM, AND POTENTIAL CO-FUNDERS AS CO BENEFICIARIES.
UM, BUT BASED ON THE RANGE OF THE BENEFITS THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED, UM, ADDITIONAL CO-FOUNDERS MIGHT INCLUDE FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES, UM, ELECTRIC UTILITIES, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS, AS WELL AS PRIVATE COMPANIES.
UM, SO JUST TO KEEP THOSE IN MIND, UH, AS YOU GO THROUGH AND, AND THINK ABOUT WHO MIGHT HELP PAY FOR THESE INVESTMENTS.
UM, BUT WITH THAT, I'M GONNA ACTUALLY TURN IT BACK OVER TO JEFF.
I ALWAYS HAVE TO FIND MY MUTE BUTTON.
UM, SO THE STEPS THAT CAROLINE JUST WALKED THROUGH ARE REALLY TALKING ABOUT HOW YOU MIGHT DESIGN CHANGES TO METROPOLITAN'S WATER CONSERVATION INCENTIVE PROGRAM, RIGHT? SO THE NEXT TWO STEPS REALLY RELATE MORE TO IMPLEMENTATION, UH, OF HOW AN UPDATED EXPANDED INCENTIVE PROGRAM MIGHT ROLL OUT ACROSS THE COMMUNITY IN WAYS THAT INCREASE ITS EFFECTIVENESS.
AND THE FIRST WAY IS REALLY A BIT OF A ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT.
SO ADDRESSING SOME OF THE FEATURES OF THE CURRENT PROGRAM THAT HAVE UNINTENTIONALLY CREATED INEQUITIES IN HOW INCENTIVES HAVE BEEN PICKED UP BY, UM, ACROSS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COMMUNITIES, AND REALLY RECOGNIZING THAT IN ORDER TO IMPROVE KIND OF EQUITABLE UPTAKE, EQUITABLE ACCESS TO INCENTIVES, UH, A PROGRAM HAS TO TAKE SOME VERY INTENTIONAL STEPS.
SO THE FIRST OF THOSE IS, UM, UH, WHAT CAROLINE JUST MENTIONED, KIND OF FLIPPING THE SCRIPT ON HOW MUCH THAT HOMEOWNERS ARE REALLY KIND OF OBLIGATED TO PAY, PARTICULARLY FOR INCOME QUALIFYING HOUSEHOLDS, YOU KNOW, INCREASING THE AMOUNT OF INCENTIVE THAT THEY HAVE ACCESS TO.
THE SECOND RECOMMENDATION IS REALLY TO EXPAND A DIRECT INSTALL PROGRAM.
SO GOING OUT AND PUTTING IN THE LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATION, YOU KNOW, IN THE GROUND FOR QUALIFYING HOMEOWNERS.
AND I REALLY WANT TO, UM, STRESS HOW IMPRESSED, UH, OUR TEAM WAS WITH LONG BEACH'S, UM, DIRECT INSTALL GARDENS PROGRAM.
SO SOME MORE GRATITUDE TO DEAN WANG, JOEY, UM, BE RIZZO AND THE REST OF THE, UH, DIRECT INSTALL TEAM OVER IN THE WATER DEPARTMENT, AS WELL AS THE CONSERVATION CORPS.
THEY WERE MENTIONED EARLIER IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE TREE PROGRAM.
BUT WE WANNA MAKE THAT PROGRAM ACCESSIBLE, NOT JUST IN LONG BEACH, BUT ACROSS THE, YOU KNOW, ACROSS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, ACROSS THE LA COUNTY AND THE METROPOLITAN SERVICE DISTRICT.
SO, UM, ENCOURAGING METROPOLITAN WATER TO REALLY COME OUT AND SUPPORT A DIRECT INSTALL PROGRAM FOR ITS MEMBER AGENCIES.
AND THEN RECOGNIZING JUST AS, AS WE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER, IT WAS TALKED ABOUT WITH THE TREES PROGRAM THAT YOU KNOW, THAT A DIRECT INSTALL OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE, OF LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATION CREATES OPPORTUNITIES FOR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.
SO IN THE MODEL OF THE CONSERVATION CORPS, PARTICIPATION IN THE DIRECT INSTALL GARDENS IS A REALLY GREAT ONE.
HOW DO WE LEVERAGE THE RESOURCES, THE CAPACITIES OF, UM, OF WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS AND EVEN BUSINESSES TO PROVIDE THIS KIND OF WORKFORCE THAT'S GONNA BE NEEDED TO, UM, DESIGN AND MAINTAIN, UH, TRANSFORM LANDSCAPES.
UM, ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE, THE, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS REALLY GOING AT THE HEART OF THE LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATION, UH, TRANSITION, IS TO CREATE UNIFORM STANDARDS THAT DEFINE WHAT THAT MEANS.
WHEN YOU HAVE UNIFORM STANDARDS ACROSS THE MED SERVICE AREA, THEN YOU HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR BUSINESSES TO BECOME, I DON'T KNOW WHETHER IT'S CERTIFIED AS TOO STRONG A WORD, BUT CERTAINLY EXPERTS IN, IN THIS, UH, THIS MODE OF TREATING URBAN LANDSCAPES.
AND THAT CREATES AN OPPORTUNITY TO WORK ACROSS, UM, WORK ACROSS THE, THE, THE, YOU KNOW, THE URBAN AREAS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.
WE THREW UP IN AN EXAMPLE FROM METROPOLITAN WATER, THAT'S THE GROUNDWORK.
THEY HAVE, UH, A NUMBER OF, THEY HAVE TWO TEAMS. THERE'S LIKE GREEN TEAM AND GREEN CORE.
UH, THEY TRAIN YOUNG ADULTS AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE DESIGN, IMPLEMENT, UH, INSTALLATION AND MAINTENANCE.
AND THEY WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE REGIONAL STEWARD DISTRICT.
SO THIS IS RAIDER, CINCINNATI, UM, EVEN THOUGH IT'S IN NORTHERN KENTUCKY.
UH, SO IT'S, IT'S, UH, THEY, THEY WORK WITH, UH, SANITATION DISTRICT NUMBER ONE TO, TO DO THOSE THINGS TO DESIGN, MAINTAIN, AND INSTALL THE DISTRICT'S GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.
SO IT COULD BE A REALLY INTERESTING MODEL TO LOOK AT AS WE THINK ABOUT HOW WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND, UH, LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATION GO HAND IN HAND.
THE FINAL STEP WE LOOKED AT IS, UM, RECOGNIZING THAT
[01:15:01]
THE, THE ROADMAP STEPS ARE A BIG LIFT FOR METROPOLITAN WATER AND FOR THE MUNICIPALITIES AND MEMBER AGENCIES.SO IT'S GONNA INVOLVE INCREASED STAFF REQUIREMENTS, IT'S GONNA INVOLVE INCREASED MONETARY CONTRIBUTION, BUT ALSO INCREASED BENEFITS, UH, IN RETURN FOR THOSE INVESTMENTS.
SO WE UNDERTOOK AN INITIAL REVIEW OF MANAGEMENT OPTIONS TO GET AN IDEA OF WHAT KIND OF STRATEGY, WHAT OPTION WOULD MOST EFFECTIVELY PROMOTE SUCCESS.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE STARTED WITH KINDA THE STATUS QUO.
I THINK SOME OF YOU MAY BE FAMILIAR WITH THE WATER SMART PROGRAM, KIND OF SIGN UP TO, YOU KNOW, SUBMIT PROOF THAT YOU HAVE, UH, DONE YOUR, YOUR TURF REMOVAL AND THEN GET A REBATE.
THAT PROGRAM HAS SOME ADVANTAGES, BUT IS UNLIKELY TO REALLY BE FLEXIBLE ENOUGH TO, UM, EX, YOU KNOW, DELIVER THESE EXPANDED RESULTS.
WE THOUGHT ABOUT, WELL, MAYBE MESH POLITAN COULD JUST BRING THIS WHOLE PROGRAM IN-HOUSE AND STAFF UP, UM, AND ADMINISTER ALL THE ATTRIBUTES OF THIS, UH, PROGRAM, INCLUDING OUTREACH AND PARTNERSHIPS, UH, AND DIRECT INSTALLMENTS, UH, ARRANGEMENTS, ET CETERA.
BUT IT DOESN'T REALLY SEEM LIKE THAT'S, UH, UH, A BEST FIT EITHER.
IT'S NOT REALLY WITHIN METROPOLITAN'S, UH, KIND OF WHEELHOUSE OR ROLE.
SO MORE PERHAPS PROMISING, UM, AVENUES COULD BE PARTNERING WITH LOCAL OR REGIONAL COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS OR BUSINESSES TO, UM, YOU KNOW, TAKE ON ROLES, UH, ACROSS THE SERVICE AREA, SOME IN LONG BEACH, SOME IN, YOU KNOW, OTHER MUNICIPALITIES.
AND THAT'S EXACTLY THE DOWNSIDE.
IS THERE MAYBE TOO MANY PARTNERS, WHICH WOULD PERHAPS LEAD TO SOME COMPLEXITY AND LACK OF CONSISTENCY.
SO WHEN WE CAME, WE REALIZED THAT PERHAPS ONE OF THE MOST PROMISING MODELS WOULD BE WHAT'S CALLED A COMMUNITY-BASED PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP.
AND THERE'S A GREAT ROLE MODEL FOR THIS.
IT'S THE CLEAN WATER PARTNERSHIP IN PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MARYLAND.
AND REALLY IT'S LIKE, IT'S, IT'S KIND OF A, A DELIVERY STRUCTURE, A CONTRACT STRUCTURE, UM, THAT INVOLVES LIKE A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN METROPOLITAN WATER OR BETWEEN A PUBLIC AGENCY AND A PRIVATE ENTITY THAT CAN GO OUT AND THEN FORM THE PARTNERSHIP, THEN FORM THE, THE, THE ARRANGEMENTS FOR DIRECT INSTALL.
AND THEN IN TURN IS KIND OF PAID BY SUCCESS, RIGHT? SO THE OUTCOME, YOU KNOW, WHEN THE OUTCOMES ARE REALIZED, THE CONTRACTOR, THE, THE, THE PRIVATE SECTOR PARTNER, UM, UH, REALIZES ITS BENEFIT.
SO I THINK THE, THE CONCLUSION OF OUR ANALYSIS WAS THAT TO REALLY, REALLY FULLY REALIZE THE BENEFITS OF LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATION AND PARTNERSHIPS, UM, WE NEED A NEW APPROACH, AND THAT THIS COMMUNITY-BASED PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP MAY BE THE BEST STRATEGY.
AND WITH THAT, I'LL HAND IT BACK TO DEVIN.
SO, UM, THAT CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATION.
WE, UH, REALLY ENCOURAGE YOU, IF THIS IS OF INTEREST TO YOU, TO REACH OUT TO US AT ARLA.
I'VE GOT MY EMAIL THERE ON THE SLIDE.
UM, YOU'RE ALSO INVITED TO READ THE FULL REPORT, WHICH IS ONLINE.
I CAN EMAIL THAT TO THE ORGANIZERS, UH, SO THAT THEY CAN DISTRIBUTE THAT TO YOU ALL.
UM, AND ALSO ENCOURAGE YOU TO CONSIDER GETTING INVOLVED IN THE CLIMATE ADAPTATION MASTER PLANNING PROCESS AT METROPOLITAN.
THERE ARE VARIOUS OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE, AND IT WOULD MEAN A LOT FOR, UH, MET TO HEAR FROM ITS MEMBER AGENCIES AND MUNI LOCAL MUNICIPALITIES ABOUT, UM, YOUR PRIORITIES AS, AS THEY CONSIDER, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S NEXT FOR THEIR FUTURE.
UM, AND THEN LASTLY, JUST WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU ALL TO CONSIDER, UM, WHEN YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT POTENTIALLY NEW PROGRAMS THAT YOU ARE HOPING TO SEE STARTED IN YOUR CITY, IF THOSE MIGHT, UM, YOU KNOW, ALREADY BE HAPPENING AT MED, AND BE SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN TAP INTO RATHER THAN REINVENTING THE WHEEL.
UM, AND, AND, AND REALLY DEEPEN THOSE PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATE IN ORDER TO MEET, UH, GOALS THAT MANY OF US SHARE ACROSS THE REGION.
HAPPY TO, UM, STAY ON THE LINE AND, AND TAKE A FEW QUESTIONS IF THERE'S TIME.
UM, OTHERWISE, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, FOR HAVING US.
UH, YES, DO PLEASE STICK AROUND.
WE'LL, UH, START THE DISCUSSION, UH, BY HAVING A MOTION BY ONE OF THE COMMISSIONERS.
AND IF YOU WANTED TO ADD ANYTHING BEYOND RECEIVING AND FILING, YOU CAN CERTAINLY DO THAT RIGHT OFF THE BAT, OR WE'LL JUST DO A MOTION TO RECEIVE AND FILE.
SO I HAVE A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER GONZALEZ, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER TOLKOFF.
SO WE'LL START WITH ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS.
IF THERE ARE ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON ITEM NUMBER THREE, PLEASE LINE UP AT THE PODIUM AT THIS TIME, SEEING NONE, THAT CONCLUDES PUBLIC COMMENT FOR ITEM NUMBER THREE.
SO IF YOU HAVE ANY, UH, QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, RAISE YOUR HAND.
AND, UH, SINCE WE HAVE FOLKS ONLINE, JUST MAKE SURE TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF WHEN YOU START YOUR QUESTION.
I JUST WANT TO, THANKS FOR THE PRESENTATION.
[01:20:01]
HILDA GAETAN.UM, I JUST HAVE A, UM, I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THIS PRESENTATION.
UH, IT IS REALLY, IT'S REALLY NICE TO KNOW THAT THERE IS MORE THAN ONE GROUP THAT IS WORKING ON THIS BECAUSE IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO CAPTURE THE WIRE WHERE YOU FALL AND NOT NECESSARILY TO BRING IT TO OTHER PLACES WHERE WE CAN CLEAN IT.
AND, AND YEAH, I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
IT WAS VERY EDUCATIONAL AND YOU MIGHT GONNA NOT HEAR FROM US.
I AM PART OF THE, UM, A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION THAT WE ARE VERY INTERESTED IN TO DO THIS KIND OF WORK.
AND WE ARE PARTNERING RIGHT NOW WITH THE SURVIVORS AND THE, UH, AQUARIUM BECAUSE WE ARE WORKING ON THE, ON THE BUTTERFLIES, ON THE MONARCH BUTTERFLIES.
SO, AS YOU KNOW, WATER IS NEEDED EVERYWHERE IN ORDER TO ALLOW THE NATIVE PLANTS TO GROW.
UH, SO YEAH, WE CAN MAYBE CONTACT YOU AND SEE WE CAN, HOW WE CAN SUPPORT YOU IN ANY WAYS YOU NEED IT HERE.
AND WE'RE, UH, BIG FANS OF SURF RIDER AS WELL.
UM, QUESTION FOR THE ARLA TEAM.
I'M A COMMISSIONER FROM THE THIRD DISTRICT, UM, AND ACTUALLY STARTED OUT MY CAREER WAY BACK WHEN IN STORMWATER.
SO THIS WAS REALLY, UH, FASCINATING AND ENLIGHTENING TO SEE WAYS THAT WE CAN INCENTIVIZE, UM, AND REALLY MONETIZE THROUGH SAVINGS, UH, THIS TRANSFORMATION FOR, UH, LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATION.
SO I REALLY APPRECIATED THAT PERSPECTIVE.
UM, CURIOUS IF YOU KNOW, OR MAYBE THIS MIGHT BE A QUESTION FOR STAFF, IF LONG BEACH HAS AN OUTDOOR WATER TARGET SET, UM, I KNOW THAT WAS ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND THE STEPS YOU PROVIDED, UM, AND ALSO CURIOUS TO SEE IF THE, UM, INTENT HERE OR IF THERE WOULD BE AN INTENT TO HAVE THE CITY OR OUR WATER DEPARTMENT SEND IN A LETTER OF SUPPORT FOR SOME OF THE THINGS THAT LONG BEACH IS DOING, LIKE THE WORKFORCE, UH, DIRECT INSTALL.
AND IF THERE'S OTHER, UM, COMPONENTS OF OUR LAWN THE GARDEN PROGRAM THAT SHOULD, UM, YOU KNOW, BE RECOMMENDED, UH, TO MET AS PART OF THIS PROCESS, IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU'D LIKE THE CITY TO DO.
I AM, I'M LOOKING AT MY TEAM MEMBERS.
I AM NOT SURE, UH, I AM NOT AWARE OF A TARGET WITHIN LONG BEACH.
UM, NOT SURE IF STAFF HA WOULD LIKE TO PIPE IN ON THAT.
UM, WE CERTAINLY WOULD WELCOME, UM, YOU ALL TO CONSIDER SENDING A LETTER TO MET.
I KNOW THEY ARE COLLECTING COMMENTS, UM, AS PART OF THEIR CAMPER WATER PROCESS.
UM, AND I THINK IT WOULD BE VERY USEFUL FOR THEM TO HEAR FROM, FROM YOU ALL, ESPECIALLY GIVEN THE GREAT WORK THAT LONG BEACH WATER HAS BEEN DOING.
I WILL SAY, UM, ANNA, TO WHO IS LONG, THE REPRESENTATIVE FROM LONG BEACH AT, UH, METS BOARD, IT HAS BEEN, UM, VERY, VERY INSTRUMENTAL IN, IN TALKING ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF ADAPTING TO CLIMATE CHANGE.
AND THAT'S, UH, MUCH APPRECIATED.
UM, UH, YEAH, I GUESS I'LL OPEN IT UP UP IF ANYONE IS AWARE OF A, A TARGET IN LONG BEACH.
DEVIN, THIS IS, UM, VICE CHAIR SKY.
JUST WONDERING, WHAT'S A DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING COMMENTS FOR THAT PROCESS BY MWD? IT, I, UH, MY UNDERSTANDING IS IT IS ON A ROLLING BASIS.
UM, THERE, I, THERE IS NOT A COMMON DEADLINE AT THE MOMENT.
AND THEN TO SPEAK TO WHETHER OR NOT, UH, THE CITY HAS A CONSERVATION GOAL, I DON'T ACTUALLY KNOW, BUT THAT'S CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT BASED ON, ON, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'VE LEARNED HERE TODAY.
I'D LOVE TO FIND OUT, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE FROM LONG BEACH UTILITIES HERE TODAY, BUT OUR NEXT COMMISSION MEETING IS ON THE TOPIC OF DROUGHT, AND SO WE'LL DEFINITELY BE HEARING FROM THEM AGAIN AND, UH, CAN LEARN THAT IF NOT BEFORE, UH, FOR SURE.
UM, CHAIR OF THE COMMISSION, I HAVE ANOTHER, UM, SOMETHING THAT YOU MENTIONED AND IS VERY IMPORTANT, AND I REALLY, PLEASE APOLOGIZE, I WANNA APOLOGIZE BECAUSE MAYBE I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND OR THEY DIDN'T HEAR WELL, I'M NOT FEELING VERY WELL, BUT YOU BRING TO, YOU BROUGHT TO THE, TO MY ATTENTION THE WEIGHT THAT THE WATER DEPARTMENT WORKS RIGHT NOW ON CHANGING THE, THE LANDSCAPE, RIGHT.
AND I KNOW THAT IT'S, IT IS NOT WORKING FOR MANY OF THE PEOPLE THAT LIVES IN MY AREA.
I LIVE IN THE NORTH LONG BEACH AND IT'S A LOW, LOW INCOME, UH, FAMILIES AND CHANGING THE, THE LAND AS A REIMBURSEMENT SOMETIMES DOESN'T WORK FOR THEM.
DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER PROJECT OR, I NOTICED THAT YOU MENTIONED IT, BUT I WAS, AS I SAY, I'M NOT FEELING VERY WELL.
I WOULD LIKE TO MAYBE, UM, HEAR FROM YOU WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT THE, UM, WHAT DEPARTMENT IS DOING HERE AND WHAT YOU'RE PLANNING ON DOING,
[01:25:01]
MAYBE.UM, YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE.
UH, I'LL TAKE A STAB AND I'LL INVITE, UM, JEFF TO, TO WEIGH IN AS WELL.
BUT I BELIEVE YOUR QUESTION IS, IS REGARDING THE DIRECT INSTALL GARDEN PROGRAM THAT LONG BEACH HAS BEEN ADMINISTERING, WHICH IS SOMETHING, UM, THAT REALLY INSPIRED US AS WE WERE DOING THIS WORK AS A, AS A GOOD MODEL, UM, FOR THE TYPES OF GARDENS WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE.
UM, THAT BEING SAID, WE KNOW THAT REIMBURSEMENT MODELS CAN BE CHALLENGING, UM, AND, AND SO, AND LESS ACCESSIBLE TO, UM, DIFFERENT TYPES OF HOUSEHOLDS.
AND SO, UM, WHILE DIRECT INSTALL PROGRAMS CAN WORK REALLY WELL IN SORT OF A, A SPECIFIC NEIGHBORHOOD OR A SMALLER AREA, WE WOULD ALSO LIKE TO SEE A BROADER, UM, TRANSITION IN THE REGION AWAY FROM A REBATE MODEL THAT PUTS, YOU KNOW, ROUGHLY 90% OF THE COST ON THE PROPERTY OWNER.
UM, AND, UH, ROUGHLY 10% COVERED BY, UM, METROPOLITAN TO SOMETHING THAT SORT OF FLIPS THAT.
SO, UH, CLOSER TO 90% OF THOSE COSTS ARE COVERED BY MET AND PARTNER AGENCIES AND PARTNER MUNICIPALITIES THAT HAVE A VESTED INTEREST IN MEETINGS, UM, TARGETS RELATED TO SOME OF THOSE CO-BENEFITS, UM, WHO ARE INTERESTED IN EXPANDING HABITAT BIODIVERSITY, ET CETERA, AND ARE WILLING TO SORT OF PAY IN FOR THOSE BENEFITS, UM, IN ORDER TO MAKE, MAKE LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATION MORE ACCESSIBLE TO ALL HOUSEHOLDS AND, AND ALL PROPERTY OWNERS THAT ARE INTERESTED.
THANKS COMMISSIONER FOR YOUR QUESTION.
AND, AND DEVIN FOR THAT ANSWER.
UM, JUST BUILDING ON THAT, WELL, PART OF THAT COMMUNITY-BASED PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP MODEL THAT WE MENTIONED, UM, COULD BE A, A MECHANISM, A A PATHWAY SO THAT THE, THE, YOU KNOW, THE ENTITY THAT MANAGES THAT PARTNERSHIP CAN ADVANCE THE COSTS, UH, TO PRIVATE, UH, PARTICULARLY LOW INCOME HOUSEHOLDS, UM, AND THEN GET THE REIMBURSEMENT AND KIND OF IN EXCHANGE OF THE INCENTIVE.
IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S PART OF THE KIND OF BEAVER DETAIL CONVERSATION THAT WOULD HAVE TO HAPPEN AS WE TRY TO IMPLEMENT THIS ROADMAP.
UM, YOU WERE ASKING ALSO ABOUT THE DIRECT INSTALL GARDEN PROGRAM THERE IN LONG BEACH.
I THINK, UM, MY UNDERSTANDING IS BASED ON CONVERSATIONS WITH STAFF AT THE WATER DEPARTMENT IS THAT WAS ORIGINALLY A KIND OF A PILOT PROGRAM.
THERE WAS A LIMITED AMOUNT OF FUNDING, THEY WERE ABLE TO RUN IT FOR A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME AND, AND GET TO, UH, A NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS BUT NOT MAKE IT WIDELY AVAILABLE ACROSS THE CITY.
MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THERE HAS BEEN SOME ADDITIONAL FUNDING THAT THE CITY HAS SECURED.
STAFF MIGHT ADD SOME MORE DETAIL TO THIS.
UM, AND, UH, THERE'S KINDA A ROUND TWO OF THE, OF THE DIRECT INSTALL GARDEN PROGRAMS IN THE WORKS.
ANY OTHER COMMISSIONER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? I TRY NOT TO IGNORE YOU.
UM, SO I WOULD JUST, UH, MAKE A REQUEST TO CITY STAFF IF WE COULD FOR, UH, THE NEXT MEETING.
IF WE CAN INVESTIGATE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR COMMISSION TO MORE FORMALLY PARTICIPATE IN THE MWBE'S UH, CAMP PROCESS AND POTENTIALLY SUBMIT A LETTER.
AND IF WE COULD HAVE A, UM, IF IT'S APPROPRIATE, A SEPARATE AGENDA ITEM ON THE JUNE MEETINGS.
THE TOPIC IS DROUGHT, SO I THINK IT TIES IN VERY WELL AND WE COULD, UH, CONSIDER EITHER SUBMITTING A LETTER OR A RECOMMENDATION TO OUR CITY COUNCIL OR POSSIBLY BOTH, WHATEVER IS MOST APPROPRIATE ONCE WE HAVE A CHANCE TO LOOK AT WHAT THEIR TIMELINE AND PROCESS IS.
SO IF THERE ARE NO FURTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMISSION, THEN WE WILL, UH, HAVE A VOTE ON THE MOTION.
WE'LL NOW HAVE PUBLIC COMMENT ON
[PUBLIC COMMENT Opportunity to address the Climate Resilient and Sustainable City Commission on non-agenda items. Each speaker is limited to three minutes to make their comments unless extended by the Chair.]
ITEMS THAT ARE NOT ON TODAY'S AGENDA.IF THERE ARE ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC THAT WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE NON AGENDA, PUBLIC COMMENT, PLEASE LINE UP AT THE PODIUM AT THIS TIME.
I'M AN ALAMEDO BEACH RESIDENT, BORN AND RAISED, AND I'M PART OF SUNRISE MOVEMENT HERE IN LONG BEACH NATIONALLY.
SUNRISE IS CALLING FOR THE CREATION OF GREEN UNION JOBS AND END TO THE FOSSIL FUEL ERA AND PREPARATION FOR CLIMATE DISASTERS FOR LONG BEACH.
THE LATTER LOOKS LIKE TACKLING EXTREME HEAT IN FULL FORCE, ESPECIALLY FOR OUR MOST VULNERABLE COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN NORTHWEST AND CENTRAL LONG BEACH.
AS THE NUMBER OF EXTREME HEAT DAYS IS EXPECTED TO INCREASE IN SEPTEMBER, 2022, I FOUND MYSELF STUCK, ISOLATED, ISOLATING INDOORS WITH COVID FOR TWO WEEKS
[01:30:01]
FOR THE ENTIRE DURATION OF THOSE TWO WEEKS.WE HAD A HEAT WAVE AND I DON'T HAVE, AC NIGHTS WERE JUST AS UNBEARABLE WHERE FANS PROVIDED VERY LITTLE RELIEF AND THE HEAT TRAPPED AT NIGHT WASN'T UNIQUE TO THIS INSTANCE.
OVER THE YEARS, EVEN WHEN I'D BEEN ABLE TO COOL OFF ELSEWHERE DURING THE DAY, MY QUALITY OF SLEEP WOULD STILL SUFFER AT NIGHT.
THIS ISN'T MY ONLY STORY, WHICH IS WHY I CONNECTED TO HEARING FROM OTHERS, UM, IN LONG BEACH ABOUT EXTREME HEAT, HOW EXTREME HEAT AS IMPACTED THEM IN THEIR HOMES, IN THEIR SCHOOLS, AND WHEN NAVIGATING LONG BEACH, ESPECIALLY WITHOUT CARS, WHICH IS WHY I STAND HERE TODAY AS EARTH MONTH COMES TO A CLOSE SEEKING SUPPORT FROM COMMUNITY LEADERS, THIS COMMISSION, UM, FOR EXPEDITED ACTION FROM THE CITY OF LONG BEACH TO ADDRESS THIS CLIMATE EMERGENCY BEFORE IT TAKES MORE LIVES.
WE, WE'VE ALREADY COLLECTED OVER A THOUSAND PETITION SIGNATURES FROM THE COMMUNITY WHO SHARE OUR VISION FOR CREATING, CREATING MORE GOOD JOBS TO COOL OUR OUTDOOR SPACES, COOL, OUR INDOOR SPACES, UM, AND OH, WITHOUT ADDITIONAL STRESS ON THE ENERGY GRID AND SUPPORTING OUR NEIGHBORS IN TIMES OF EXTREME HEAT.
I HAVE GONE THROUGH THE LONG BEACH YOUTH CLIMATE CORE PROGRAM MYSELF, SO I WANT TO SEE OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN AND DIRECTLY IMPROVE THE LIVABILITY OF LONG BEACH TO EXPAND WITH MORE THRIVING SHADE TREES AND BEYOND TREES TO IMPLEMENT MORE SOLUTIONS SOONER.
VICTOR WAS WALKING HOME FROM WORK IN THE AFTERNOON.
HE HAD LOADED UP A COUPLE OF TRAILERS THAT DAY.
UH, HIS WALK HOME WAS ABOUT TWO MILES, AND NORMALLY HIS BIKE HELPED HIM MAKE HIS THIS A 10 MINUTE COMMUTE FOR WHATEVER REASON HE WALKED HOME FOR THAT DAY.
UH, BEING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SONORAN DESERT CITY OF ME, TEMPERATURE THAT AFTERNOON WAS WELL OVER A HUNDRED DEGREES FAHRENHEIT AND HAD BEEN THAT WAY ALL WEEK.
UH, MAYBE HE DIDN'T HAVE CASH TO BUY SOMETHING TO DRINK.
MAYBE HE FIGURED HE COULD WAIT UNTIL HE GOT HOME WHERE HE HAD WATER AND OTHER BEVERAGES.
UH, MAYBE KNOWING WITHOUT OUTSIDE SEEING HIM STRUGGLING, MAYBE HE ASKED SOMEONE FOR A DRINK OR A RIDE, BUT WASN'T HELP BECAUSE HE WAS A SCARY LOOKING DUDE.
WHAT WE DO KNOW IS THAT HE COLLAPSED A BLOCK AWAY FROM HIS HOME.
WE KNOW THE SHOPKEEPER AROUND THERE CALLED THE AMBULANCE.
WE KNOW HE MADE IT TO THE HOSPITAL UNCONSCIOUS, AND WE KNOW HE NEVER REGAINED CONSCIOUSNESS, CONSCIOUSNESS AND THAT HE DIED, UM, FROM HEAT STROKE BEFORE NIGHTFALL.
SO, EXTREME HEAT ISN'T A FLASHY NATURAL DISASTER, BUT IT'S ACTUALLY THE DEADLIEST, UH, LONG BEACH IS THE COASTAL CITY WITH A MEDITERRANEAN CLIMATE, AND MANY WOULD SAY THAT WE'RE FAR FROM THE SONORAN DESERT, SO WE DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT EXTREME HEAT.
UM, FORTUNATELY, UH, DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE, WE'LL BE EXPERIENCING MORE EXTREME HEAT DAYS, MORE OFTEN AND FOR LONGER DAYS.
AND DUE TO URBAN SPRAWL, THERE ARE MANY HEAT ISLANDS THAT TRAP HEAT AND BREAKS TEMPERATURES TO ALL OVER A HUNDRED DEGREES FAHRENHEIT, WHICH PUTS OUR VULNERABLE RESIDENTS IN DANGER.
UH, WHEN I MOVED TO NORTH LONG BEACH IN 2019, I THOUGHT, GREAT, I'M CLOSER TO THE BEACH.
SO SUMMER SHOULD NOT BE THAT HOT, RIGHT? UH, IT BECAME PRETTY APPARENT THAT'S ARRIVED.
UH, THESE SUMMER HEAT WAVES, I'D HAVE TO GET AC AND LUCKILY I WAS ABLE TO INSTALL SOLAR PANELS AND GET AN HVAC SYSTEM.
BUT, UH, NOT EVERYONE CAN JUST INSTALL SOLAR PANELS.
NOT EVERYONE, UH, CAN OH, SHOOT
NOT EVERYONE CAN GET APPROVED FOR LOANS.
UM, AND THE HEAT ISLANDS IN LONG BEACH ARE CONCENTRATED IN OUR MOST IMPOVERISHED AREAS, WHICH ARE DISTRICT SEVEN, EIGHT, AND NINE.
UH, THE LACK OF GREEN SPACES, ACCESS TO COOLING SYSTEMS, TRAFFIC CONGESTION, AND POOR AIR QUALITY PUTS EVERYONE HERE AT RISK.
WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH COOLING CENTERS.
SO LIKE, JUST LOOK AT STAR KING AND COLLEGE SQUARE ELECTRICITY BILL SOAR AS THE GREATEST PUSH TO ITS LIMIT.
IT SEEMS THAT AC IS NO LONGER A LUXURY, BUT A NECESSITY.
AND WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE GRID FAILS? WE DEMAND THE CITY WORK PROACTIVELY TO ADDRESS THESE ISSUES.
GIVE US GREEN SPACES AND CARBON SINKS, RETROFIT BUILDINGS TO PRODUCE GREEN ENERGY ARRAY, SHADE STRUCTURES, INSTALL COOLING SYSTEMS WITH THE CLASSROOMS. IT'S 2024 AND SOME CLASSROOMS STILL DON'T HAVE AC.
HOW'S ANYONE SUPPOSED TO LEARN LIKE THAT? WE BELIEVE THAT THIS COULD BE, UM, ACHIEVED VIA GREEN JOBS PROGRAM.
YOU'RE GONNA PAY ME A LIVABLE WAGE TO DO WHAT? COOL LONG BEACH.
INVEST IN THESE PROJECTS, CREATE DEMAND, PRIORITIZE TECHNOLOGY TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE.
WE HAVE THE YOUTH CLIMATE CORE AND THE CONSERVATION CORE.
THESE PROGRAMS ARE GREAT PATHWAYS TO THESE CAREER FIELDS, BUT WE NEED TO REVAMP THEM TO, INTO OVERDRIVE AND REALLY STEP UP TO FACE THE CLIMATE EMERGENCY WE'RE BEING FACED WITH.
DON'T WAIT UNTIL WE GET COOKED.
THE BETTER WE PREPARE, UH, THE MORE LIVES WILL BE SAVED IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
UH, PLEASE CONSIDER SIGNING A PLEDGE TO GIVE US SUPPORT AND HELP US FIGHT EXTREME HEAT AND COOL LONG BEACH.
THAT CONCLUDES NON AGENDA, PUBLIC COMMENT.
MAKE JUST IN THE THREE MINUTES.
[ANNOUNCEMENTS]
COMMISSIONERS.[01:35:01]
UM, SIR, I'M SORRY I DIDN'T HEAR YOUR NAME, BUT PLEASE ACCEPT MY CONDOLENCES ON THE TERRIBLY SAD LAWSUIT, YOUR BROTHER.UM, I, I THOUGHT THAT I'D JUST LIKE TO SUGGEST THESE, THESE KIND OF PEOPLE HAVE BEEN WAITING HERE AN HOUR AND 45 MINUTES TO SPEAK FOR THREE MINUTES EACH.
AND I WAS JUST WONDERING IF THERE'S A REASON THAT WE CAN'T LET PUBLIC COMMENT COME AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MEETING.
'CAUSE MAYBE THEY WEREN'T INTERESTED IN WHAT WE DID EARLIER, BUT IF IF THEY, THEY WOULDN'T HAVE HAD TO STAY.
UM, SO I'D JUST LIKE TO THROW THAT OUT FOR US TO, YOU KNOW, CONSIDER FOR THE FUTURE.
WE DON'T HAVE TO DISCUSS OR, OR DECIDE NOW.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO COMMENT, YES.
UM, I, I THINK I RECOMMEND IT BEFORE, RIGHT, THAT WE SUPPOSED TO HAVE A COMMENT AT THE BEGINNING.
SO THE ORDER OF BUSINESS ON OUR AGENDA HAS PUBLIC COMMENT AT THE BOTTOM.
HOWEVER, IT'S UP TO THE DISCRETION OF THE CHAIR IF THEY WOULD LIKE TO CALL THAT PUBLIC COMMENT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MEETING OR AT THE END OF THE MEETING.
UM, SO MOVING FORWARD, IF THE CHAIR WOULD LIKE TO CALL FOR IT AT THE BEGINNING, IT'S AT THEIR DISCRETION.
I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU UNDERSTAND THAT ISAC IS A VOLUNTEER FOR POINT, A VOLUNTEER FOR, I, I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE 10 DIFFERENT ORGANIZATION HE USES HIS TIME JUST TO ADVOCATE FOR, FOR, UM, FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND FOR THE HEALTH.
AND I WANNA THANK YOU FOR COME OVER AND, AND TELL US WHAT HAPPENED.
ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS? YEAH, IF I COULD OFFER, UM, ONE RESOURCE AND, UM, A QUESTION FOR STAFF ABOUT THIS TOO.
UM, THERE'S A GROUP CALLED THE LA REGIONAL COLLABORATIVE LARC AND THEY PROMOTE EVERY YEAR, UM, A HEAT SAFE LA CAMPAIGN.
UH, SO THERE'S TOOLKITS, THERE'S, UM, DOWNLOADABLE RESOURCES.
UM, THEIR HASHTAG IS, UM, ANYONE CAN USE IT EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT A LARC MEMBER.
BUT I'M CURIOUS, IS A LONG BEACH JOB PARTICIPANT IN LARC? AND IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DOWNLOAD TO OUR, UM, SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS AND SHARE THAT THIS SUMMER FOR HEAT AWARENESS? THIS, WE HAVE BEEN A MEMBER OF LARC.
I DON'T KNOW IF WE'RE A CURRENT DUES PAYER THIS YEAR.
UM, BUT WE CAN CERTAINLY LOOK INTO WHETHER OR NOT WE CAN ACCESS THAT TOOL.
AND YEAH, AND AND FROM WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, IT IS AVAILABLE.
SO YES, WE CAN LOOK INTO SHARING THAT ON OUR, UH, SOCIALS.
AND THANK YOU FOR BRINGING UP THE TOPICS TODAY AND SHARING YOUR COMMENTS.
UM, EXTREME HEAT IS, UM, REAL AND DEADLY AND, UH, HERE TO COME IN JUST A FEW MONTHS, WE'LL START TO EXPERIENCE, UM, THE BRUNT OF IT HERE AND EVEN IN, IN OUR CITY.
SO I KNOW THE CITY HAS COOLING CENTERS AND OTHER RESOURCES AVAILABLE, UM, BUT ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO TO HELP.
THANK YOU, UH, SEEING, KNOW THAT THEIR COMMISSIONERS AND IF THERE'S NO OBJECTION, WE WILL ADJOURN
[ADJOURNMENT]
THE MEETING.THANK YOU, YOU ALL VERY MUCH, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS AND FOR STAYING THROUGH THE MEETING.